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SCHOOLS    OF    HELLAS 


AN   ESSAY   ON   THE   PRACTICE   AND   THEORY 
OF   ANCIENT   GREEK   EDUCATION 


MACMILLAN  AND  CO.,  Limited 

LONDON  •  BOMBAY  •  CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK  .  BOSTON  •  CHICAGO 
DALLAS  •  SAN  FRANCISCO 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA, 

TORONTO 


Ltd. 


IN    A    RIDING-SCHOOL 
From  a  Kulix  by  Euphronios,  now  in  the  Louvre.     Hartwig's  Meistertchalen^  Plate  53. 


*    Schools  of  Hellas 

AN  ESSAY  ON  THE  PRACTICE  AND  THEORY 
OF  ANCIENT  GREEK  EDUCATION 

FROM 

600    TO    300    B.C 

BY 

KENNETH    J.    FREEMAN 

SCHOLAR  OF   TRINITY  COLLEGE,   CAMBRIDGE;    BROWNE   UNIVERSITY   SCHOLAR; 
CRAVEN   UNIVERSITY  SCHOLAR;    SENIOR  CHANCELLOR'S    MEDALLIST,   ETC. 

EDITED    BY 

M.   J.   RENDALL 

HEAD  MASTER  OF  WINCHESTER  COLLEGE 

WITH  A  PREFACE  BY  A.  W.  VERRALL,  Litt.Doc. 


ILLUSTRATED 


y 


SECOND   EDITION  M^       .- 


3/ 


MACMILLAN  AND   CO.,  LIMITED 

ST.  MARTIN'S  STREET,  LONDON 

1912 


COPYRIGHT 


First  Edition  May  1907 

Second  Impression  July  1907 

Third  Impression  January  1908 

Second  Edition  January  1912 


c|»IA0KAA0I2 

KAI 
*IA020*0I2 


PREFACE 

The  Dissertation  here  published  was  written  by  the  late 
Mr.  K.  J.  Freeman,  in  the  course  of  the  year  following 
his  graduation  at  Cambridge  as  a  Bachelor  of  Arts,  with 
a  view  to  his  candidature  for  a  Fellowship  at  Trinity 
College,  for  which  purpose  the  rules  of  the  College 
require  the  production  of  some  original  work.  In  the 
summer  of  1906,  three  months  before  the  autumn 
election  of  that  year,  his  brilliant  and  promising  career 
was  arrested  by  death. 

We  have  been  encouraged  to  publish  the  work,  as  it 
was  left,  by  several  judgments  of  great  weight ;  nor 
does  it,  in  my  opinion,  require  anything  in  the  nature 
of  an  apology.  It  is  of  course,  under  the  circumstances, 
incomplete,  and  it  is  in  some  respects  immature.  But, 
within  the  limits,  the  execution  is  adequate  for  practical 
purposes  ;  and  the  actual  achievement  has  a  substantive 
value  independent  of  any  personal  consideration.  No 
English  book,  perhaps  no  extant  book,  covers  the  same 
ground,  or  brings  together  so  conveniently  the  materials 
for  studying  the  subject  of  ancient  Greek  education — 
education  as  treated  in  practice  and  theory  during  the 
most  fertile  and  characteristic  age  of  Hellas.  It  would 
be  regrettable  that  this  useful,  though  preliminary, 
labour  should  be  lost  and  suppressed,  only  because  it 
was  decreed  that  the  author  should  not  build  upon  his 
own  foundation. 

Novelty  of  view    he   disclaimed  ;  but   he    claimed, 

vii 


viii  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS 

with  evident  truth,  that  the  work  is  not  second-hand, 
but  based  upon  wide  and  direct  study  of  the  sources 
which  are  made  accessible  by  copious  references. 

The  subject  is  in  one  respect  specially  appropriate  to 
a  youthful  hand.  Perhaps  at  no  time  is  a  man  more 
likely  to  have  fresh  and  living  impressions  about 
education  than  when  he  has  himself  just  ceased  to  be 
a  pupil,  when  he  has  just  completed  the  subordinate 
stages  of  a  long  and  strenuous  self-culture.  It  will  be 
seen,  in  more  than  one  place,  that  the  author  is  not 
content  with  the  purely  historical  aspect  of  his  theme, 
but  suggests  criticisms  and  even  practical  applications. 
It  may  be  thought  that  these  remarks  upon  a  matter  of 
pressing  and  growing  importance  are  by  no  means  the 
less  deserving  of  consideration  because  the  writer,  when 
he  speaks  of  the  schoolboy  and  the  undergraduate,  is 
unquestionably  an  authentic  witness. 

Butj  as  I  have  already  said,  the  work  will  commend 
itself  sufficiently  to  those  interested  in  the  topic,  if  only 
as  a  conspectus  of  facts,  presented  with  orderly  arrange- 
ment and  in  a  simple  and  perspicuous  style. 

It  is  not  my  part  here  to  express  personal  feelings. 
But  I  cannot  dismiss  this,  the  first  and  only  fruit  of 
the  classical  studies  of  Kenneth  Freeman,  without  a 
word  of  profound  sorrow  for  the  premature  loss  of  a 
most  honourable  heart  and  vigorous  mind.  He  was  one 
whom  a  teacher  may  freely  praise,  without  suspicion  of 
partiality  ;  for,  whatever  he  was,  he  was  no  mere  pro- 
duct of  lessons,  as  this,  iiis  first  essay,  will  sufficiently 
show.  It  is  not  what  he  would  have  made  it ;  but  it 
is  his  own,  and  it  is  worthy  of  him. 

A.  W.  VERRALL. 

Trinity  College,  Cambridge, 
January  1907. 


EDITOR'S    STATEMENT 

It  has  fallen  to  my  lot  to  edit  this  essay,  the  first,  and 
last,  work  of  Kenneth  John  Freeman,  a  brilliant  young 
Scholar  of  Winchester  College  and  subsequently  of 
Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  whose  short  life  closed  in 
the  summer  of  1906. 

He  was  born  in  London  on  June  19,  1882,  and 
died  at  Winchester  on  July  15,  1906, — a  brief  span  of 
twenty-four  years,  the  greater  part  of  which  was  spent 
in  the  strenuous  pursuit  of  truth  and  beauty,  both  in 
literature  and  in  the  book  of  Nature,  but  above  all 
among  the  Classics. 

Scholarly  traditions  and  interests  he  inherited  in 
no  small  measure  :  he  was  the  son  of  Mr.  G.  Broke 
Freeman,  a  member  of  the  Chancery  Bar,  and  a  Classical 
graduate  and  prizeman  of  Trinity  College,  Cambridge, 
and  the  grandson  of  Philip  Freeman,  Archdeacon  of 
Exeter,  himself  a  Scholar  of  the  same  great  Foundation, 
Craven  University  Scholar  and  Senior  Classic  in  1839. 
He  was  also  a  great-grandson  of  the  Rev.  Henry 
Hervey  Baber,  for  many  years  Principal  Librarian  of 
the  British  Museum,  and  Editor  of  the  editio  princeps  of 
the  Codex  Alexandrinus.  From  them  he  inherited  a 
passion  for  Classical  study,  a  keen  sense  of  form,  and  a 
determined  pursuit  of  knowledge,  which  nothing  could 

ix 


X  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS 

daunt,  not  even  the  recurrent  shadow  of  a  long  and 
distressing  illness. 

Through  his  mother,  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Horace 
Dobell,  of  Harley  Street,  London,  he  was  also  a  great- 
nephew  of  the  poet  Sydney  Dobell ;  and  he  had  him- 
self much  genuine  poetic  feeling  which  distinguished  a 
number  of  verses  found  among  his  papers,  since  printed 
for  private  circulation. 

His  School  and  University  career  was  uniformly 
successful.  At  Winchester  he  won  prizes  in  many 
subjects  and  several  tongues,  and  carried  off  the 
Goddard  Scholarship,  the  intellectual  blue  ribbon,  at 
the  age  of  sixteen. 

At  Cambridge  he  was  Browne  University  Scholar 
in  1903,  and  in  the  first  "division"  of  the  Classical 
Tripos  in  1904,  in  which  year  he  also  won  the  Craven 
Scholarship.  The  senior  Chancellor's  medal  fell  to 
him  in  the  following  year. 

There  is  no  need  to  enumerate  his  other  distinctions, 
but  the  epigram  with  which  he  won  the  Browne  Medal 
in  1903  is  so  beautiful  in  itself  and  so  true  an  epitome  of 
the  boy  and  the  man,  that  I  am  tempted  to  quote  it  here  : 

^€iv€,   KaXhv  rh  (rjv  /carayajytov  Icttlv  aTracrtv, 
V7)7rvTiovs  yap  o/iws  vvKmrXaveh  re  ^lAet, 

8(opa  \api^6iJi€vov  ^tAias  Kat  T€fmvhv  e/owra 
Kttt  TTOvov  evavSpov  (fipovTiSa  r    ovpaviav' 

TpvxofX€Vovs  8    ijSr]  Koifji^  rhv  aK'qpaTov  vttvov 
TTCfxireL  8    (StTTe  XaOelv  oIkolS    IXrjXvdoras. 

He  was  always  an  optimist,  who  regarded  life  as  a 
"  fair  Inn,"  which  provided  much  good  cheer.  Shyness 
and  ill-health  limited  sadly  the  range  of  his  friends,  but 
not  his  capacity  and  desire  for  *' friendship."  "Manly 
toil,"    both   physical  and  intellectual,  was  dear  to  his 


EDITOR'S  STATEMENT  xi 

soul  :  thus,  though  no  great  athlete,  he  was  an  ardent 
Volunteer  both  at  School  and  College,  and  declared 
that,  had  he  not  chosen  the  teacher's  profession,  he 
would  have  wished  to  be  a  soldier  :  he  writes  of  Sparta 
and  Xenophon  with  evident  sympathy.  Also  he  fought 
and  won  many  an  intellectual  battle  against  great 
odds  ;  to  quote  one  instance,  he  wrote  the  papers  for 
his  Craven  Scholarship  while  convalescent  in  his  old 
nursery.  His  poems,  to  complete  the  parallel,  may 
justly  be  described  as  the  *'  aspiring  thoughts "  of  a 
singularly  pure  and  reverent  heart. 

It  is  a  simple,  uneventful  record  :  six  happy  years  as 
a  Winchester  Scholar  ;  three  as  a  Scholar  of  Trinity 
College,  Cambridge  ;  one  year  of  travel  and  study, 
mainly  devoted  to  the  subject  of  Education,  which 
always  had  a  special  attraction  for  him  ;  and  lastly, 
one  year,  the  happiest  of  his  life,  when  he  returned  to 
teach  at  his  old  school. 

All  appeared  bright  and  promising  ;  he  was  doing  the 
work  he  desired  at  the  school  of  his  choice,  health  and 
vigour  seemed  fully  restored,  and  a  strenuous  life  as  a 
Winchester  Master  lay  before  him,  when  an  acute  attack 
of  the  old  trouble,  borne  with  perfect  patience,  cut  him 
off  in  the  prime  of  his  promise. 

Then,  to  quote  his  own  translation  of  his  epigram  : 

When  I  was  aweary,  last  and  best 
They  gave  me  dreamless  rest ; 
And  sent  me  on  my  way  that  I  might  come 
Unknown,  unknowing,  Home. 

The  work  itself  was  never  finished  for  the  press  ; 
indeed,  some  chapters,  dealing  with  Sokrates,  Plato,  and 
Aristotle,  did  not  appear  sufficiently  complete  to  justify 
publication  :  these,  therefore,  we  have  withheld.  But 
this  book  is  in  substance  what  he  left  it,  and  he  was 


xii  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS 

fully  aware  that  the  omitted  chapters  were  in  need  of 
further  revision. 

In  any  case,  it  would  have  been  a  labour  of 
love  to  me  to  edit  this  dissertation  ;  but  the  labour 
has  been  lightened  at  every  turn  by  the  ungrudging 
help  and  friendship  of  many  Scholars.  Dr.  Verrall, 
besides  contributing  a  Preface,  has  contributed  much 
advice  in  general  and  in  detail  ;  Dr.  Sandys  has  revised 
the  proofs  and  given  me  the  benefit  of  his  compre- 
hensive knowledge  of  the  subject ;  Dr.  Henry  Jackson 
went  through  some  of  the  later  chapters  and  discussed 
points  of  general  interest.  The  original  Essay  or  the 
proofs  have  in  addition  been  revised,  from  different 
points  of  view,  by  Mr.  Edmund  D.  A.  Morshead, 
late  Fellow  of  New  College,  Oxford,  and  Mr.  F.  M. 
Cornford,  Fellow  of  Trinity  College,  Cambridge. 
Mr.  G.  S.  Freeman  (brother  of  the  author)  is  re- 
sponsible for  the  Index  ;  while  Mr.  W.  R.  H.  Merriman 
has  spent  much  pains  upon  verifying  the  numerous 
quotations.  In  a  few  cases  Dr.  F.  G.  Kenyon's  erudition 
came  to  the  rescue.  To  all  these  my  best  thanks  are 
due.  Mr.  A.  Hamilton  Smith  of  the  British  Museum 
was  most  helpful  in  identifying  the  vases  from  which 
the  illustrations  are  derived.  The  author,  who  was  a 
considerable  draughtsman,  had  drawn  scenes  from 
Greek  vases  with  his  own  hand  ;  but  of  course  our 
illustrations  are  derived  from  published  reproductions, 
with  two  exceptions.  The  two  British  Museum  vase- 
scenes  (Illustrations  III.  and  IV.)  were  specially  drawn 
for  this  book  :  they  have  never  been  carefully  repro- 
duced before.  I  must  thank  the  Syndics  of  the  Pitt 
Press  at  Cambridge  for  their  kind  permission  to  re- 
produce their  print  of  Douris'  Educational  Vase  from 
Dr.  Sandys'    History    of    Classical    Scholarship.       The 


EDITOR'S  STATEMENT  xiii 

design  which  appears  on  the  cover  of  this  volume  is 
also  adapted  from  this  vase. 

It  remains  to  add  a  few  sentences  from  a  Statement 
which  the  author  himself  drew  up  : 

"  I  have,"  he  says,  "  confined  my  attention  very 
largely  for  several  years  to  original  texts  and  eschewed 
the  aid  of  commentaries."  This  will  be  patent  to  the 
reader. 

"As  to  accepted  interpretations,  I  have,  purposely 
and  on  principle,  neither  read  nor  heard  much  of  them, 
since  I  wished,  in  pursuance  of  the  bidding  of  Plato 
himself,  not  to  receive  unquestioningly  the  authority  of 
those  whom  to  hear  is  to  believe,  but  to  develop  views 
and  interpretations  of  my  own.  For  I  have  always 
believed  that  education  suffers  immensely  from  the 
study  of  books  about  books,  in  preference  to  the  study 
of  the  books  themselves.  M.  Paul  Girard's  book  in 
French  {^U Education  Athenienne)  and  Grasberger's  in 
German  [Erziehung  und  Unterricht  im  klassischen 
Alterthum)y  the  latter  of  which  I  have  only  read  in 
part,  have  set  me  on  the  track  of  authorities  whom  I 
should  otherwise  have  missed,  but  I  believe  that  my 
acknowledgments  in  the  text  and  in  the  notes  fully 
cover  my  direct  obligations  to  them  in  other  respects, 
although  my  indirect  obligations  to  M.  Girard's  stimu- 
lating book,  which  are  great,  remain  unexpressed. 

"  An  apology  is,  perhaps,  needed  for  the  peculiar,  and 
not  wholly  consistent,  spelling  of  the  Greek  words.  I 
had  meant  to  employ  the  Latinised  spelling.  But  when 
I  came  to  write  Lyceum,  Academy,  and  pedagogue,  my 
heart  failed  me.  For  I  did  not  wish  to  suggest  modern 
music-halls,  modern  art,  and,  worst  of  all,  modern 
'pedagogy.'  In  adopting  the  ancient  spelling  I  had 
Browning  on  my  side.     But  again,  when  I  wrote  Thou- 


xiv  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS 

kudides,  my  heart  sank,  for  I  could  hardly  recognise  an 
old  friend  in  such  a  guise.  So  I  decided,  perhaps 
weakly,  to  steer  a  middle  course,  and  preserve  the 
Latinised  forms  in  the  case  of  the  more  familiar  words. 
Thus  I  put  Plato,  not  Platon,  but  Menon  and 
Phaidon."  We  have  adhered  to  this  principle  in  the 
main  ;  we  need  hardly  say  that  Lakedaimon  is  the 
transliteration  of  a  Greek  word  :  Lacedaemonian  is 
an  English  adjective.  So  a  citizen  of  Troizen  is  a 
Troezenian,  and  of  Boiotia  a  Boeotian.  "  I  have,''  the 
author  concludes,  "  preferred  Hellas  and  Hellene  to 
Greece  and  Greek.  For  a  rose  by  any  other  name  does 
not  always  smell  as  sweet.'* 


M.  J.  RENDALL. 


Winchester  College, 
March  1907. 


I  AM  tempted  to  add  a  few  lines  to  accompany  this 
the  fourth  impression  o^  Schools  of  Hellas. 

It  is  nearly  five  years  since  this  essay  first  went  out 
to  challenge  the  criticism  of  a  world  which  professes  to 
distrust  somewhat  its  ancient  guides. 

It  appeared  with  no  adventitious  help,  and  yet  the 
spirit  of  ancient  Hellas  still  exercises  so  potent  a  spell 
upon  us,  and  breathes  so  freshly  and  strongly  through 
these  pages,  that  the  book  has  already  fought  its  way 
well  into  the  third  thousand  of  copies. 

The  modest  and  scholarly  enthusiast  who  penned  it 

could  hardly  have  anticipated  that  so  many  ^iXoxaXoc 

and  (j)LX6(TO(f)oi,  would  be  found  to  ponder  over  his  essay. 

1   am  sure  that  he  would  have  wished  for  no  higher 

reward. 

M.  J.  R. 

Winchester,  January  191 2. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Bibliography  .  .  .  .  .  .     xvii 

Introduction  ......  i 


PART   I 
THE   PRACTICE   OF   EDUCATION 

CHAPTER  I 

Sparta  and  Crete    .  .  .  .  .  .11 

CHAPTER   II 

Athens  and  the  Rest  of  Hellas  :    General   Introduction       42 

CHAPTER   III 
Athens,  etc.  :  Primary  Education  .  .  .  '79 

CHAPTER   IV 

Athens,  etc.  :   Physical  Education  .  .  .118 

CHAPTER  V 

Athens,  etc.  :    Secondary  Education — I.  The  Sophists       .     157 

XV 


xvi  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS 

CHAPTER  VI 

PAGE 

Athens,  etc.  :    Secondary  Education — II.  The   Permanent 

Schools  .  .  .  .  .  -179 

CHAPTER  VII 

Athens,  etc.  :  Tertiary  Education — The  Epheboi  and  the 

University        .  .  .  .  .  .210 


PART   II 
THE  THEORY  OF  EDUCATION 

CHAPTER  VIII 

Religion  and  Education  in  Hellas  .  .  .227 

CHAPTER  IX 

Art,  Music,  and  Poetry     .  .  .  ,  .237 

CHAPTER  X 

Xenophon     .  .  . 

PART   III 

CHAPTER  XI 

General  Essay  on  the  Whole  Subject      *  .  -275 


•     259 


INDEX 


293 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


AFTER   PAGE 


Vase  by  Euphronios,  Louvre   (centre  of  X.  a  and  X.  b) — 

Mounted  Ephebos  in  Riding-School  .       Frontispiece 


La.  Kulix  by  Douris,  Berlin  (No.  2285)  — The   Flute- 
Lesson  and  Writing-Lesson 

I.  B.  Kulix  by  Douris,  Berlin  (No.  2285) — The  Lyre-Lesson 
and  Poetry-Lesson 


52 


IL  Kulix  by  Hieron,  now  at  Vienna — A  Flute  Lesson  : 

The  Boy's  Turn     .  .  .  .  .70 


III.  Hudria  in  British  Museum  (E    171) — Music-School 
Scenes        ...... 


104 


IV.  Hudria   in    British  Museum  (E    172) — In    a   Lyre- 
School        .  .  .  .  .  .108 

V.  A.  Kulix  attributed  to  Euphronios,  at  Munich — Scenes^ 
in  a  Palaistra 


V.  B.  Kulix  attributed  to  Euphronios,  at  Munich — Scenes 
in  a  Palaistra 

VI.  A.  Wrestlers,  etc.,  in  the  Palaistra^ 
VI.  B.  Boxers,  etc.,  in  the  Palaistra      J 


120 


128 


VIL  The  Stadion  at  Delphi            .  .              .  .132 

VIII.  Kulix   signed  by   Euphronios,  at  Berlin — Scenes  in 

the  Palaistra            .             .  .             .  •     '7+ 
xvii 


xviii  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS 

AFTER   PAGE 

IX.  Vase  attributed  to  Euphronios,  at  Munich — A  Riding- 
Lesson  :  Mounting  .  .  .  .214 


X.  A.  Kulix  by  Euphronios,  now  in  the  Louvre — Scene  in 
a  Riding-School 

X.  B.  Kulix  by  Euphronios,  now  in  the  Louvre — Scene  in 
a  Riding-School 


258 


NOTE  TO  THE  THIRD  IMPRESSION 

The  two  vases,  Nos.  III.  and  IV.,  in  the  British  Museum,  there 
catalogued  as  E  171  and  E  172,  have  been  at  present  (Jan.  19) 
removed  to  the  Room  of  Greek  and  Roman  Life^  and,  owing  to  the 
frequent  rearrangement  of  the  Vases  in  the  British  Museum,  the 
student  who  wishes  to  find  any  particular  vase  without  delay  is 
recommended  to  refer  directly  to  one  of  the  officials. 


SELECT   BIBLIOGRAPHY 

DiTTENBERGER,  W. '  Dc  Ephcbis  Atticis  Dissertatio.     Dieterich, 

Gottingen,  1863. 
DuMONT,  A.     Essai  sur  I'^phebie  Attique.     2  vols,     Didot,  Paris, 

1875-76. 
GiRARD,  P.     L'Education  Athenienne  au  v®  et  au  iv®  si^cle  avant 

J.-C.     Hachette,  Paris,  1889. 
Grasberger,    L.     Erziehung    und    Unterricht    im    klassischen 

Alterthum.     3  vols.     Wurzburg,  1864-81. 
Laurie,  S.  S.     Historical  Survey  of  Pre-Christian   Education. 

2nd  Edition.     Longmans,  London,  1900. 
Mahaffy,  J.  P.     Old  Greek  Education.     Kegan  Paul,  1883. 
MiJLLER,  K.  O.     Dorians.     Edition  1824.     English  translation  ; 

Oxford,  1830. 
Nettleship,  H.     In  Hellenica.     2nd  Edition.     Longmans,  1898 
SiDGwiCK,  A.     Essay  in  Teachers*  Guild  Quarterly,  No.  8. 
UssiNG,  J.  L.     (Danish.)     German  translation.     Erziehung  bei 

den  Griechen  (und  Romern).     Altona,  1870. 
WiLKiNs,   A.   S.     National   Education    in  Greece   (Hare  Prize, 

Cambridge).     Isbister,  London,  1873. 


XIX 


INTRODUCTION 

The  meeting-place  of  two  streams  has  always  a  curious 
fascination  for  the  traveller.  There  is  a  strange  charm 
in  watching  the  two  currents  blend  and  lose  their 
individuality  in  a  new  whole.  The  discoloured,  foam- 
flecked  torrent,  swirling  on  remorselessly  its  pebbles 
and  minuter  particles  of  granite  from  the  mountains, 
and  the  calm,  translucent  stream,  bearing  in  invisible 
solution  the  clays  and  sands  of  the  plains  through 
which  its  slow  coils  have  wound,  melt  into  a  single 
river,  mightier  than  either,  which  has  received  and 
will  carry  onward  the  burdens  of  both  and  lay  them 
side  by  side  in  some  far-ofF  delta,  where  they  will  form 
"  the  dust  of  continents  to  be." 

To  the  student  of  history  or  of  psychology  the 
meeting-place  of  two  civilisations  has  a  similar  charm. 
To  watch  the  immemorial  culture  of  the  East,  slow- 
moving  with  the  weight  of  years,  dreamy  with  centuries 
of  deep  meditation,  accept  and  assimilate,  as  in  a 
moment  of  time,  the  science,  the  machinery,  the  restless 
energy  and  practical  activity  of  the  West  is  a  fascinating 
employment ;  for  the  process  is  big  with  hope  of  some 
glorious  product  from  this  union  of  the  two.  Those 
who  live  while  such  a  union  is  in  progress  cannot  esti- 
mate  its  value  or  its  probable  result ;    they   are  but 

I  B 


2  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS 

conscious  of  the  discomforts  and  confusion  arising  from 
the  ending  of  the  old  order  that  passes  away,  and  can 
hardly  presage  the  glories  of  the  new,  to  which  it  is 
yielding  place.  It  is  in  past  history,  not  in  the  con- 
temporary world,  that  such  combinations  must  be 
studied. 

The  chief  historical  instance  of  two  distinct  civilisa- 
tions blending  into  one  is  the  Renaissance,  that  mighty 
union  of  the  spirit  of  ancient  Hellas  and  her  pupil 
Rome  with  the  spirit  of  medieval  Europe,  which  has 
hardly  been  perfected  even  now.  But  it  is  often  for- 
gotten that  there  were  at  least  two  dress-rehearsals  for 
the  great  drama  of  the  Renaissance,  in  the  course  of 
which  Hellenism  learnt  its  own  charm  and  adapted 
itself  to  the  task  of  educating  the  world.  Alexander 
carried  the  arts,  the  literature,  and  the  spirit  of  Hellas 
far  into  the  heart  of  Asia  ;  and,  though  his  great  ex- 
periment of  blending  West  with  East  was  interrupted 
by  his  early  death  and  the  consequent  disruption  of  his 
world-empire,  yet,  even  so,  something  of  his  object  was 
effected  in  the  Hellenistic  culture  of  Alexandria,  Syria, 
and  Asia  Minor.  Within  a  century  of  his  death  began 
the  second  dress -rehearsal,  this  time  in  the  West. 
Conquered  Hellas  led  her  fierce  conqueror  captive,  and 
the  strength  of  Rome  bowed  before  the  intellect  and 
imagination  of  the  Hellene.  Once  more  the  great 
man  who  designed  to  unite  the  two  currents  into  one 
stream  without  loss  to  either  was  cut  off  before  his 
plans  could  be  carried  out,  and  the  murder  of  Julius 
Cassar  caused  incalculable  damage  to  this  earlier  Re- 
naissance, for  the  education  of  Rome,  the  second 
scholar  of  Hellas,  was  not  too  wisely  conducted.  Yet 
the  schooling  produced  Virgil  and  Horace  and  that 
Greco-Roman  civilisation  in  which  the  Teutonic  nations 


INTRODUCTION  3 

of  the  North  received  their  first  lessons  in  culture. 
After  several  premature  attempts,  medieval  Europe 
rediscovered  ancient  Hellas  and  her  pupil  Rome  at 
the  time  of  the  Renaissance.  Since  that  time  the  in- 
fluence exerted  by  Hellenism  upon  modern  civilisation 
has  been  continuous  and  incalculable.  How  much  of 
that  influence  remains  unassimilated,  how  far  it  is  still 
needed,  may  perhaps  be  realised  best  by  passing  straight 
from  the  Elgin  marbles  or  a  play  of  Sophocles  to  a 
modern  crowd  or  to  modern  literature. 

Hellas  has  thus  been  the  educator  of  the  world  to 
an  extent  of  which  not  even  Perikles  ever  dreamed. 
How  then,  it  may  naturally  be  asked,  did  the  teacher 
of  the  nations  teach  her  own  sons  and  daughters?  If 
so  many  peoples  have  been  at  school  to  learn  the 
lessons  of  Hellenism,  what  was  the  nature  of  the 
schools  of  ancient  Hellas  ?  How  did  those  wonderful 
city-states,  which  produced  in  the  course  of  a  few 
centuries  a  wealth  of  unsurpassed  literature,  philosophy 
and  art,  whose  history  is  immortalised  by  the  names 
of  Thermopylae  and  Marathon,  train  their  young 
citizens  to  be  at  once  patriots  and  art-critics,  states- 
men and  philosophers,  money-makers  and  lovers  of 
literature .?  They  must  have  known  not  a  little  about 
education,  those  old  Hellenes,  it  is  natural  to  suppose. 
Have  the  schools,  like  the  arts  and  literature  and 
spirit,  of  Hellas  any  lesson  for  the  modern  world  .'^ 
These  are  the  questions  which  the  present  work  will 
attempt  in  some  measure  to  answer. 

In  some  measure  only  ;  for  the  spirit  of  Hellas 
cannot  be  caught  at  second  hand  :  it  consists  in  just 
those  subtler  elements  of  refined  taste  and  perfect 
choice  of  expression  which  cannot  but  be  lost  in  a 
translation    or   a   photograph.       In   like    manner,    the 


4  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS 

secret  of  Hellenic  education  cannot  be  reproduced  by 
any  mere  accumulation  of  bald  facts  and  wiseacres' 
deductions.  It  is  easy  for  the  modern  theorist  to  give 
an  exact  account  of  his  ideal  school ;  he  has  only  to 
tabulate  the  subjects  which  are  to  be  studied,  the  books 
which  are  to  be  read,  and  the  hours  at  which  his 
mechanical  children  are  to  be  stuffed  with  the  required 
mass  of  facts.  But  the  Hellenic  schoolmaster  held 
that  education  dealt  not  with  machines  but  with 
children,  not  with  facts  but  with  character.  His 
object  was  to  mould  the  taste  of  his  pupils,  to  make 
them  ''love  what  is  beautiful  and  hate  what  is  ugly." 
And  because  he  wished  them  to  love  what  is  beautiful 
in  art  and  literature,  in  nature  and  in  human  life,  he 
sought  to  make  his  lessons  attractive,  in  order  that  the 
subjects  learnt  at  school  might  not  be  regarded  with 
loathing  in  after  life.  Education  had  to  be  charming 
to  the  young  ;  its  field  was  largely  music  and  art  and 
the  literature  which  appeals  most  to  children,  adventure 
and  heroism  and  tales  of  romance  expressed  in  verse. 
The  music  is  all  but  gone,  and  of  the  art  only  a 
few  fragments  remain  ;  the  primary  schools  of  Hellas 
have  left  to  modern  research  only  portions  of  their 
literature.  Their  attractiveness  must  be  judged  from 
the  poems  of  Homer.  But  the  charm  of  education 
lies  mainly  in  the  methods  of  the  teacher  ;  and  of  these 
posterity  can  know  little.  Scholars  may  piece  together 
the  books  which  were  read  and  the  exercises  which 
were  practised,  but  of  the  method  in  which  they  were 
taught,  of  their  order  and  arrangement  and  respective 
quantities,  nothing  can  be  known.  There  is  the  raw 
material,  the  human  boy,  and  of  the  tools  wherewith  the 
masters  fashioned  him,  some  relics  are  left ;  but  of  the 
way  in  which  the  artist  used  those  tools,  of  the  true 


INTRODUCTION  5 

inwardness  of  his  handicraft  and  skill,  not  all  the  dili- 
gence of  Teutonic  research  can  recover  a  trace.  The 
young  art-student  will  learn  little  of  Michel  Angelo  or 
Raphael,  if  he  focusses  his  attention  simply  on  the 
materials  and  the  tools  which  they  employed  :  to 
grasp  their  spirit  he  must  go  to  the  Sistine  Chapel  or 
to  the  Dresden  Gallery,  and  contemplate  their  master- 
pieces. In  like  manner  the  student  of  Hellenic  educa- 
tion ought  to  consider  not  its  materials  and  tools,  but 
rather  its  results  and  ideals.  He  must  look  with  his 
own  eyes  and  imagination  upon  the  Aegina  pediment  or 
the  "  Hermes  "  of  Praxiteles,  if  he  wishes  to  comprehend 
the  objects  of  the  Doric  and  Ionic  schools.  This  he  must 
do  for  himself,  since  no  book  can  do  it  for  him.  All 
that  this  work  can  hope  to  do  is  to  furnish  some  few 
ideas  about  the  tools  wherewith  the  Hellenic  school- 
masters tried  to  fashion  the  boys  at  their  disposal  into 
the  masterpieces  bodied  forth  in  the  "  Hermes  "  and  the 
Aeginetan  figures  :  the  skilled  fingers  and  the  imagina- 
tive brains  which  used  the  tools  are  for  ever  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  scholar  and  archaeologist. 

The  "  Hermes,"  with  his  physical  perfection  and  his 
plenitude  of  intellect,  with  the  features  of  an  artist  and 
the  brow  of  a  thinker,  may  be  taken  as  the  ideal  of  the 
fully  developed  Athenian  education  of  the  early  fourth 
century  b.c.  The  Aeginetan  figures  stand  in  the  same 
relation  to  the  Spartan  and  Cretan  schools  ;  these  heroic 
figures  have  the  bodily  harmoniousness,  the  narrow  if 
deep  thought,  the  hardness  of  the  Dorian  temper. 
Perhaps  it  is  not  fanciful  to  see  in  the  so-called 
"  Theseus "  of  the  Parthenon  an  earlier  ideal  of 
Athenian  training,  when  it  aimed  at  rather  less  of 
dreamy  contemplation,  at  a  less  sensuous  and  more 
strenuous  mode  of  life.     If  this  be  so,  that  glorious 


6  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS 

figure  bodies  forth  the  very  ideal  of  Periclean  and 
Imperial  Athens  at  her  grandest  moment,  before  the 
ruin  caused  by  the  long  war  with  Sparta. 

The  stream  of  Hellenism  ran  in  two  currents. 
Underlying  the  local  diversity,  which  made  every  little 
town  ethically  and  artistically  distinct  from  its  neigh- 
bour, was  the  fundamental  difference  between  Dorian 
and  Ionian.  Clearly  marked  in  every  aspect  of  life, 
this  difference  was  most  marked  in  the  schools.  Sparta 
and  Crete  on  the  one  hand,  and  Athens,  followed 
closely  by  her  Ionian  and  Aeolic  allies  and  at  a  greater 
distance  by  the  rest  of  civilised  Hellas,  on  the  other, 
develop  totally  different  types  of  education.  The 
young  Spartan  is  enrolled  at  a  fixed  age  in  a  boarding- 
school:  everything  he  learns  or  does  is  under  State- 
supervision.  Perfect  grace  and  harmony  of  body  is 
his  sole  object :  he  is  hardly  taught  his  letters  or 
numbers.  The  young  Athenian  goes  to  school  when 
and  where  his  parents  like  ;  learns,  within  certain  wide 
limits,  what  they  please  ;  ends  his  schooling  when  they 
choose.  He  learns  his  letters  and  arithmetic,  studies 
literature  and  music,  and,  at  a  later  date,  painting, 
besides  his  athletic  exercises,  at  a  day-school.  When 
he  grows  older,  he  may  add  rhetoric  or  philosophy  or 
science  or  any  subject  he  pleases  to  this  earlier  course. 
The  State  interferes  only  to  protect  his  morals,  and  to 
enforce  upon  him  two  years  of  military  training  between 
the  ages  of  eighteen  and  twenty. 

The  superficial  differences  between  the  Athenian  and 
the  Spartan  type  of  school  are  so  striking  that  at  first 
sight  they  appear  to  have  no  one  principle  in  common. 
It  will  therefore  be  necessary  to  keep  the  two  types  apart 
at  first  and  discuss  their  details  separately.  But  the 
Hellenic  thinkers  recognised  certain  deep-seated  simi- 


INTRODUCTION  7 

larlties  beneath  the  superficial  contradictions,  and  it 
became  the  object  of  educational  philosophy  to  blend 
the  two  types  into  a  perfect  system.  As  soon  as  a 
deeper  study  has  been  made  of  the  theory  of  education 
in  Hellas,  the  distinctions  of  practice  begin  to  vanish 
away  and  the  similarities  of  ideal  and  aim  become  more 
and  more  apparent.  When  the  survey  of  both  practice 
and  theory,  which  is  the  object  of  this  work,  has  been 
completed,  it  should  be  possible  to  grasp  and  estimate 
the  common  principles,  which,  amid  much  variety  of 
detail,  governed  the  schools  of  Hellas. 


PART   I 
THE   PRACTICE   OF   EDUCATION 


CHAPTER   1 

EDUCATION    AT    SPARTA    AND    IN    CRETE 

According  to  a  current  legend,  which  Herodotos, 
owing  to  his  Ionian  patriotism,  is  eager  to  contradict, 
Anacharsis  the  Scythian,  on  his  return  from  his  travels, 
declared  that  the  Spartans  seemed  to  him  to  be  the  only 
Hellenic  people  with  whom  it  was  possible  to  converse 
sensibly,  for  they  alone  had  time  to  be  wise.^  The 
full  Spartan  citizen  certainly  had  abundant  leisure.  He 
was  absolutely  free  from  the  cares  of  money-making, 
for  he  was  supported  by  an  hereditary  allotment  which 
was  cultivated  for  him  by  State-serfs.  He  had  no 
profession  or  trade  to  occupy  him.  His  whole  time 
was  spent  in  educating  himself  and  his  younger 
countrymen  in  accordance  with  Spartan  ideas,  and 
in  practising  the  Spartan  mode  of  life.  The  Spartans 
divided  their  day  between  various  gymnastic  and 
military  exercises,  hunting,  public  affairs,  and  "  leschai  " 
or  conversation-clubs,  at  which  no  talk  of  business 
was  permitted  ;  the  members  discussed  only  what  was 
honourable  and  noble,  or  blamed  what  was  cowardly 
and  base.^  They  were  on  the  whole  a  grave  and  silent 
people,  but  they  had  a  terse  wit  of  their  own,  and  there 

*  Herodotos,  4.  "jj.  » 

^  Plutarch,  La^oargoj,  25.     Kratinos  (Athen.  138)  ridicules  these  clubs  and  says 
that  the  attraction  of  them  was  that  sausages  hung  there  on  pegs  to  be  nibbled. 


12  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

was  a  statue  of  Laughter  in  their  city.  They  were 
always  in  a  state  of  perfect  training,  like  the  "  wiry 
dogs"  of  Plato's  Republic.  They  were  strong  con- 
servatives ;  innovation  was  strictly  forbidden.  The 
unfortunate  who  made  a  change  in  the  rules  of  the 
Ball-game  was  scourged.  In  the  Skias  or  Council- 
chamber  still  hung  in  Pausanias'  time  the  eleven-stringed 
lyre  which  Timotheos  had  brought  to  Sparta,  only  to 
have  it  broken  ;  ^  and  the  nine-stringed  lyre  of  Phrunis 
met  the  same  fate.  Having  once  accepted  the  seven- 
stringed  lyre  from  Terpander,  the  Spartans  never  per- 
mitted it  to  be  changed.  They  had  also  a  talent  for 
minute  organisation  ;  both  their  army  and  their 
children  were  greatly  subdivided.  Every  one  at  Sparta 
was  a  part  of  a  beautifully  organised  machine,  designed 
almost  exclusively  for  military  purposes. 

In  this  strangely  artificial  State,  it  was  essential 
that  the  future  citizens  should  be  saturated  with 
the  spirit  of  the  place  at  an  early  age.  There  were 
practically  no  written  laws.  Judges  and  rulers  acted 
on  their  own  discretion.^  This  was  only  possible  if  a 
particular  stamp  of  character,  a  particular  outlook 
and  attitude,  were  impressed  upon  every  citizen. 
Consequently,  education  was  the  most  important  thing 
at  Sparta.  It  was  both  regulated  and  enforced  by  the 
State.  It  was  exactly  the  same  for  all.  The  boys  were 
taken  away  from  home  and  brought  up  in  great 
boarding-schools,  so  that  the  individualising  tendencies 
of  family  life  and  hereditary  instincts  might  be  stamped 
out,  and  a  general  type  of  character,  the  Spartan  type, 
alone  be  left  in  all  the  boys.  For  boarding-schools 
have  admittedly  this  result,  that  they  impose  a  recognis- 

^  Pausanias,  3.12.    A  similar  event  happened  at  Argos.    Plutarch,  On  Music,  37. 
^  Aristot.  Pol.  ii.  9,  10. 


CHAP.  I     AT  SPARTA  AND  IN  CRETE  13 

able  stamp,  a  certain  similarity  of  manner  and  attitude, 
upon  all  the  boys  who  pass  through  them. 

Therefore,  as  soon  as  a  child  was  born  at  Sparta,  it 
was  taken  before  the  elders  of  the  tribe  to  which  its 
parents  belonged.^  If  they  decided  that  it  was  likely 
to  prove  sickly,  it  was  exposed  on  Mount  Tattgetos, 
there  to  die  or  be  brought  up  by  Helots  or  Perioikoi. 
Sparta  was  no  place  for  invalids.  If  the  infant  was 
approved,  it  was  taken  back  to  its  home,  to  be  brought 
up  by  its  mother.  Spartan  women  were  famous  for 
their  skill  in  bringing  up  children.  Spartan  nurses 
were  in  great  demand  in  Hellas.  They  were  eagerly 
sought  after  for  boys  of  rank  and  wealth  like  Alkibiades. 
The  songs  which  they  sang  to  their  charges  and  the 
rules  which  they  enforced  made  the  children  "  not 
afraid  of  the  dark  "  or  terrified  if  they  were  left  alone  ; 
not  addicted  "  to  daintiness  or  naughty  tempers  or 
screaming  '*  ;  in  fact,  ''  little  gentlemen  "  in  every  way. 

No  doubt  the  discipline  of  the  children  was  strict, 
but  then  the  parents  lived  just  as  strictly  themselves. 
There  were  no  luxuries  for  any  one  at  Sparta  :  the 
houses  and  furniture  were  as  plain  as  the  food.  But 
there  is  a  charming  picture  of  Agesilaos  riding  •  on  a 
stick  to  amuse  his  children  ;  and  the  Spartan  mothers, 
if  stern  towards  cowardice,  seem  to  have  been  keenly 
interested  in  their  children's  development ;  they  were 
by  no  means  nonentities  like  Athenian  ladies. 

The  children  slept  at  home  till  they  were  seven  ; 
but  at  an  early  age  were  taken  by  their  fathers  to 
the  "  Pheiditia  "  or  clubs  where  the  grown  men  spent 
those  hours  during  which  they  stayed  indoors  and  took 
their  meals.  About  fifty  men  attended  each  of  these 
clubs.     The  children  sat  on  the  floor  near  their  fathers. 

1  Plutarch,  Luk.  i6. 


14  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

Each  member  contributed  monthly  a  "  medimnos  "  of 
barley-meal,  eight  "  choes "  of  wine,  five  "  mnai "  of 
cheese,  two  and  a  half  "  mnai "  of  figs,^  and  some  very 
cheap  relish  ;  if  he  sacrificed  to  a  god,  he  gave  part  of 
the  victim  to  his  "  mess,"  and  if  he  was  successful  in 
hunting  (which  was  a  frequent  occupation),  he  brought 
his  spoils  to  the  common  table.  There  was  also  the 
famous  black  broth,  made  by  the  hereditary  guild  of 
State  cooks,  which  only  a  life  of  Spartan  training  and 
cold  baths  in  the  Eurotas  could  make  appetising  ;  yet 
elderly  Spartans  preferred  it  to  meat.  Perhaps  a 
fragment  of  Alkman  represents  a  high-day  at  one  of 
these  clubs  :  "  Seven  couches  and  as  many  tables,  brim- 
ming full  of  poppy-flavoured  loaves,  and  linseed  and 
sesamum,  and  in  bowls  honey  and  linseed  for  the 
children."  ^ 

A  Spartan  who  became  too  poor  to  pay  his  contribu- 
tion to  his  club  lost  his  rights  as  a  citizen,  and  so  could 
not  have  his  children  educated  in  the  State-system. 
But  as  long  as  the  allotments  were  not  alienated,  such 
cases  were  not  common.  The  contribution  was  Kara 
K6(^aXriv^^  that  is,  the  fixed  quantity  of  provisions  had 
to  be  supplied  for  every  member  of  the  family  who 
attended  a  club,  i.e.  for  every  male,  since  the  women 
took  their  meals  at  home.  There  is  no  reason  what- 
ever for  supposing  that  the  boys,  either  before  or  after 
they  went  to  the  boarding-schools,  were  fed  at  the 
expense  of  the  State.  It  is  expressly  stated  that  the 
number  of  foster-children,  who  accompanied  their 
benefactors'  sons  to  school,  varied  according  to  the 
extent  of  their  patron's  means.*     Parents  must  there- 

^  Say,  I J  bushels  of  meal,  5  gallons  of  wine,  5  lbs.  of  cheese,  and  z\  lbs.  of  figs. 
2  Smyth,  Melic  Poets,  "Alkman,"  26,  if  the  emendation  iraideaa-c  be  correct. 
'  Aristot.  Pol.  ii.  9.  ^  phularchos  (Athen.  vi.  271). 


CHAP.  I     AT  SPARTA  AND  IN  CRETE  15 

fore  have  paid  something  for  their  boys  while  they  were 
at  school.  The  teaching  involved  no  expenses  ;  hence 
it  must  have  been  the  food  for  which  they  paid. 
Thus,  only  those  boys  could  attend  the  Spartan  schools 
whose  parents  could  afford  to  pay  the  customary  sub- 
scription in  kind  for  their  own  and  their  children's  food 
at  the  common  meals.  Xenophon,  the  admirer  of  all 
things  Spartan,  adopts  the  same  system  in  his  State, 
since  he  makes  the  children  of  the  poor  drop  out 
automatically  from  the  public  schools.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  at  Sparta  families  were  always  small, 
and  the  population  tended  to  decrease  steadily  ;  the 
number  of  males  for  whom  subscriptions  had  to  be  paid 
by  the  head  of  the  family  can  rarely  have  been  large. 

Generally  speaking,  therefore,  the  Spartan  schools 
were  only  for  the  sons  of  "  Peers "  {ojiolol)^  that 
is,  those  who  paid  the  subscriptions.  But  a  certain 
number  of  other  boys  were  admitted,  provided  that 
their  food  was  paid  for.  A  rich  Spartan  might,  if  he 
chose,  select  certain  other  boys  to  be  educated  with  his 
own  son  or  sons,  and  pay  their  expenses  meanwhile.^ 
The  number  of  these  school-companions  depended  on 
the  number  of  contributions  in  kind  which  he  was 
capable  of  supplying.  The  school-companions  could 
thus  attend  the  Spartan  schools ;  but  they  did  not 
become  citizens  when  they  grew  up,  unless  they  revealed 
so  much  merit  that  the  Spartan  State  gave  them  the 
franchise. 

From  what  classes  were  these  school -companions 
drawn  ?  Sometimes  they  were  foreigners,  sons  either 
of  distinguished  guest-friends  of  leading  Spartans,  or 
of    refugee  -  settlers    in    Laconia.     Thus    Xenophon's 

1  Xen.  Anab.  iv.  6.  14  ;  Aristot.  Pol.  ii.  9.  31. 
2  Phularchos  (Athen.  vi.  271  e). 


1 6  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

two  sons  were  educated  at  Sparta.  These  foreign  boys 
were  called  rpocpifioi,  or  Foster-children.  Xenophon 
mentions  "  foreigners  from  among  the  rpocfytfjuoL.''  ^ 
If  these  Foster-children,  when  grown  up,  remained  in 
Sparta  they  possessed  no  civic  rights.  A  passage  in 
Plato  refers  to  the  difficulty  which  was  experienced 
in  getting  these  Foster-children  to  accept  this  humble 
position.^  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Sparta  thus 
precedes  Athens  as  an  educational  centre  to  which  boys 
from  foreign  cities  came  to  receive  their  schooling. 

More  often  Spartan  parents  chose  Helots  to  be 
school  -  companions  of  their  sons.  Thus  Plutarch 
speaks  of  "  two  of  the  foster-brothers  of  Kleomenes, 
whom  they  call  Mothakes."  ^  The  name  Mothax  was 
applied  to  these  educated  Helots.  They  seem  to  have 
been  notorious  for  the  way  in  which  they  presumed 
upon  their  position,  if  we  may  assume  a  connection 
between  Mothax  and  Mothon,  a  term  which  is  used 
for  the  patron  deity  of  impudence  in  Aristophanes,  and 
elsewhere  is  the  name  of  a  vulgar  dance.*  They  were 
not  enfranchised  when  their  school-days  were  over,  and 
had  to  settle  down  to  slavish  duties,  unless  they  showed 
peculiar  merit.  But  several  of  the  most  distinguished 
Spartans,  including  Lusandros,  were  enfranchised 
Mothakes. 

Xenophon,  in  a  passage  which  has  already  been 
quoted,  mentions  "  gentlemen  -  volunteers  of  the 
Perioikoi  and  certain  foreigners  of  the  so-called 
Foster-children  and  bastards  of  the  Spartiatai,  very 
goodly  men  and  not  without  share  in  the  honourable 
things  in  the  State."  ^     If  most  of  the  authorities  are 

1  Xen.  Hellen.  v.  3.  9.  2  pi^^^^  ^^^^  .^o  d.  3  piut.  f^ig^m.  8. 

"*  Aristoph.  Knights^  635,  695  (with  Schol.  on  697,  <popTLKbv  dpxvcreus  elSos)  j 
Eurip.  BaccA.  1060.  5  Xen.  Hellen,  v.  3.  9. 


CHAP.  I     AT  SPARTA  AND  IN  CRETE  17 

right  in  regarding  "  the  honourable  things "  ^  as  a 
Spartan  phrase  for  their  educational  system — and  there 
is  good  ground  for  this  view — then  this  passage  shows 
that  illegitimate  sons,  and  perhaps  eminent  Perioikoi, 
passed  through  the  public  schools  at  Sparta  although, 
however,  neither  were  called  Foster-children,  a  name 
reserved  for  distinguished  foreigners.  The  Helots 
who  shared  the  education  were  known  as  Mothakes, 
and  sometimes  as  (TvvTpo(t)oi,,  school-companions  ;  but 
they  do  not  seem  to  have  been  called  Tp6(f>tfioty 
"  Foster-children." 

During  the  best  period  of  Spartan  history,  none  of 
these  extra  pupils,  rpocfytfioi^y  Mothakes,  illegitimate 
children,  and  eminent  Perioikoi,  were  enfranchised 
unless  they  showed  peculiar  merit.  At  a  later  date, 
perhaps,  any  one  who  passed  through  the  schools  became 
a  Spartan  citizen.  Plutarch  makes  this  a  part  of 
Lukourgos'  system  ;  but  that  is  improbable.  Such  a 
custom  would  only  arise  in  the  days  of  Spartan  decay 
and  depopulation.  On  the  other  hand,  any  Spartan 
boys  who  flinched  before  the  hardships  of  their  national 
education,  lost  their  status,  and  were  disfranchised,  if 
they  did  not  persevere.^ 

Till  they  were  seven,  the  boys  were  taken  to 
their  fathers'  clubs  :  the  girls  had  all  their  meals  with 
their  mothers  at  home,  for  the  women  did  not  have 
dining-clubs.  By  seeing  the  hardships  which  their 
fathers  endured,  and  hearing  their  discussions  on 
political  subjects  and  their  terse  humour,  the  boys  were 
already  being  trained  in  the  Spartan  mode  of  life ;  for 
the  clubs  served  as  an  elementary  school.  There,  too, 
they  learnt  to  play  with  their  contemporaries,  and   to 

1  Xen.  Constit.  of  Lak.  iii.  3  j  Hellen.  v.  4.  32. 
2  Xen.  Constit,  of  Lak.  iii.  3, 


1 8  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

exchange  rough  jests  without  flinching.  To  take  a 
jest  without  annoyance  was  part  of  the  Spartan  char- 
acter ;  but  if  the  jester  went  too  far  for  endurance,  he 
might  be  asked  to  stop. 

At  seven  the  boys  were  taken  away  from  home,  and 
organised  in  a  most  Systematic  way  into  "  packs  "  and 
"  divisions."  These  were  the  "  ilai,"  which  probably 
contained  sixty-four  boys,  and  the  "  agelai,'*  whose 
numbers  are  unknown.^  These  packs  fed  together, 
slept  together  on  bundles  of  reeds  for  bedding,  and 
played  together.  The  boys  had  to  go  barefoot  always, 
and  wore  only  a  single  garment  summer  and  winter 
alike.  They  were  all  under  the  control  of  a 
"  Paidonomos "  or  '*  Superintendent  of  the  boys," 
a  citizen  of  rank,  repute,  and  position,  who  might  at 
any  moment  call  them  together,  and  punish  them 
severely  if  they  had  been  idle  :  he  had  attendants  who 
bore  the  ominous  name  of  Floggers.^  So,  as  Xenophon 
grimly  remarks,  a  spirit  of  discipline  and  obedience 
prevailed  at  Sparta.  In  order  that  the  boys  might  not 
be  left  without  control,  even  when  the  Paidonomos  was 
absent,  any  citizen  who  i  might  be  passing  might  order 
them  to  do  anything  which  he  liked,  and  puftish  them 
for  any  faults  which  they  committed.  The  most 
sensible  and  plucky  boy  in  each  pack  was  made  a 
Prefect  over  it,  and  called  the  Boudgor,  or  "Herd- 
leader  "  ;  the  rest  obeyed  his  orders  and  endured  his 
punishments.^ 

^  "  Agelai  "  of  young  men  are  mentioned  by  inscriptions  at  Miletos  and  Smurna 
[BOckh,  2892,  3326]  J  there  may  have  been  boarding-schools  somewhat  resembling 
those  of  Sparta  at  these  towns  for  young  men. 

^  IJLa<TTiy6^opoL.  Xen.  Constit.  ofLak.  ii.  2.  Aristotle  calls  Paidonomoi  an  aristo- 
cratic institution.  They  existed  in  Crete,  and  inscriptions  mention  them  in  Karia, 
Teos,  and  many  other  places. 

'  Flat.  Lukourgos,  16.  Hesychius  declares  that  the  Boulgor  was  a  boy,  so  the 
word  cannot  mean  the  Eiren,  who  was  over  twenty. 


CHAP.  I     AT  SPARTA  AND  IN  CRETE  19 

The  elder  men  stirred  up  quarrels  among  the  boys 
in  order  to  see  who  was  plucky.  Over  every  school 
was  set  one  of  the  young  men  over  twenty  who  had  a 
good  reputation  both  /or  courage  and  for  morality.^ 
He  was  called  the  Eiren.  He  kept  an  eye  on  their 
battles,  and  used  them  as  servants  at  home  for  his 
supper  ;  he  ordered  the  bigger  boys  to  bring  him 
firewood,  and  the  smaller  to  collect  vegetables.  The 
only  way  by  which  such  supplies  could  be  obtained  was 
by  stealing  them  from  the  gardens  and  the  men*s 
dining-clubs.  Apparently,  then,  the  boys  dined  with 
him  in  his  house  ;  ^  they  were  supplied  with  a  scanty 
meal  by  their  parents  to  eat  there,  and  were  encouraged 
to  make  up  the  deficiency  by  stealing.  "  When  the 
Eiren  had  finished  supper,  he  ordered  one  of  the  boys 
to  sing,  and  to  another  he  propounded  some  question 
which  needed  a  thoughtful  answer,  such  as,  '  Who  is 
the  best  of  the  grown-ups  ? '  For  such  particular 
questions  are  more  stimulating  than  generalities  like 
*  What  is  virtue  .^ '  or  '  What  is  a  good  citizen  ? ' 
The  answer  had  to  be  accompanied  by  a  concise  reason  ; 
failure  was  punished  by  a  bite  on  the  hand.  Elder 
men  watched,  saying  nothing  at  the  time,  but  rebuking 
the  Eiren  severely  afterwards  if  he  was  too  strict  or 
too  lenient/' 

Thus  we  find  at  Sparta  a  prefect-system  and  fB.gg\ng. 
But  the  sense  of  responsibiHty  produced  in  the  elder  boys 
at  English  public  schools  and  the  practice  which  they 
acquire  in  exercising  authority  were  prevented  at  Sparta 
by  the  perpetual  presence  of  grown  men,  which  made 
Laconian  schools  more  like  French  Lyc6es.  There  is 
no  class  of  professional  schoolmasters;  the  Eiren,  the 

^   Plut.  Lukourgos,  ly  J  Xcn.  Constit.  of  Lak.  \\.  il. 
^  In  which  case  the  Eiren  corresponds  closely  to  the  Cretan  Agelatcs. 


20  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

Paidonomos,  and  any  elder  who  chooses,  give  the  in- 
struction freely  and  gratuitously.  Education,  being  so 
simple,  cost  nothing  at  Sparta. 

From  Plutarch's  mention  of  stealing  from  the  mens 
dining-clubs  it  may  safely  be  inferred  that  boys  of  this 
age  dined  apart.  Whether  it  was  always  in  the  Eiren's 
house  cannot  be  ascertained.  After  the  age  of  sixteen 
they  must  have  come  into  the  men's  syssitia ;  for 
Xenophon  implies  that  the  visitor  to  Sparta  coulci  see 
lads  of  that  age  at  dinner  and  ask  them  questions  :  and 
a  visitor  would  certainly  not  have  dined  in  a  dining- 
room  meant  only  for  boys.  Whether  the  election  of 
members  took  place  at  that  age,  or  whether  they  still 
went  to  their  fathers'  clubs,  is  unknown. 

The  education  was  almost  entirely  physical.  Plutarch, 
it  is  true,  says  that  they  learnt  *'  letters,  because  they 
were  useful."  ^  This  may  have  been  a  later  introduc- 
tion, or  perhaps  the  amount  learnt  was  so  little  as  to 
justify  Isokrates  in  saying  that  the  Spartans  "  do  not 
even  learn  their  letters,  which  are  the  means  to  a  know- 
ledge of  the  past,  as  well  as  of  contemporary  events";  ^ 
he  also  thought  it  highly  improbable  that  even  '*  the 
most  intelligent  of  them  would  hear  of  his  speeches, 
unless  they  found  some  one  to  read  them  aloud. "  ^  They 
had,  indeed,  little  reason  to  learn  to  read.  Their  written 
laws  were  very  few,  and  these  they  learnt  by  heart,  set 
to  a  tune.  They  had  nothing  to  do  with  commerce  or 
even  with  accounts  ;  very  few  of  them  knew  how  to 
count.*  Hippias,  the  Sophist,  found  that  all  they  cared 
to  listen  to,  were  "  genealogies  of  men  and  heroes, 
foundations  of  cities,  and  archaeology  generally." 
Probably,  like  the  Dorian  philosopher  Pythagoras,  and 

^  Lukourgos,  i6  ;  Lac.  InstitutionSy  247.  ^  igg^^  Panath.  276  d. 

*  Panath.  285  c.  ^  ■*  Plato,  Hippias  Maj.  285  c. 


CHAP.  I     AT  SPARTA  AND  IN  CRETE  21 

like  Plato,  the  admirer  of  all  things  Dorian,  they  held 
that  memory  was  all-important,  and  that  the  use  of 
writing  weakened  it.-^  Besides  the  State-laws  set  to 
music  there  were  songs  which  praised  dead  heroes  and 
derided  cowards  :  the  diction  was  plain  and  simple,  the 
subjects  grave  and  moral ;  many  of  them  were  war- 
marches  ;  all  were  incentive  to  pluck  and  energy. 

Rhetoric  was,  of  course,  utterly  forbidden  :  a  young 
man  who  learnt  it  abroad  and  brought  it  home  was 
punished  by  the  Ephors.^  Spartans  learned  to  be  silent  as 
a  rule  ;  when  they  spoke,  their  remarks  were  short  and 
much  to  the  point,  for  they  thought  it  wrong  to  waste 
a  word.^  This  was  definitely  taught  to  the  boys,  as  has 
been  shown  above.  "If  you  converse  with  quite  an 
ordinary  Laconian,"  says  Plato,^  "at  first  he  seems  a 
mere  fool ;  then  suddenly,  at  the  critical  point,  he  flings 
forth  a  pithy  saying,  and  his  companions  seem  no  better 
than  children  compared  with  him."  This  epigrammatic 
wisdom  Plato  ironically  ascribes  to  the  fact  that 
Laconians  really  attend  Sophists  on  the  sly,  and  are 
greater  philosophers  than  any  one  knows.  Many  echoes 
of  their  terse  and  grim  humour  have  come  down  to 
modern  times  :  such  as  Leonidas'  remark  to  his  troops 
at  Thermopylae,  "  Breakfast  here  :  supper  in  Hades  "  ; 
and  the  Spartan's  description  of  Athens,  "All  things 
noble  there,"  by  which  he  meant  that  nothing,  however 
base,  was  counted  ignoble. 

The  Spartans  must  not  be  regarded  as  wholly  averse 
to  literature.  They  knew  Homer,  and  thought  him  the 
best  poet  of  his  class,  although  the  manner  of  life  he 
inculcated  was  Ionic,  not  Doric.^     Alkman  spent  his 

^  Sext.  Empir.  Mathem,  2,  §  21.  ^  piut.  Lukourgos^  19-20. 

3  Plato,  Protag.  342  e. 
^  Plato,  Laws,  680  d.     Crete  repudiated  Homer  altogether. 


22  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

life  at  Sparta,  and  has  left  one  splendid  song  for  a 
chorus  of  Laconian  girls.  Aristophanes  could  put  a 
fine  chorus  into  the  mouths  of  Laconians,  though  its 
subject  is  noticeably  warlike.  For  it  was  war-poems 
that  the  Spai-tans  liked.  "  They  care  naught  for  the 
other  poets,"  says  the  Athenian  orator,  Lukourgos, 
"  but  for  Turtaios  they  care  so  exceedingly  that  they 
made  a  law  to  summon  every  one  to  the  king's  tent, 
when  they  are  on  a  campaign,  to  hear  the  poems  of 
Turtaios,  considering  that  this  would  make  them  most 
ready  to  die  for  their  country."  ^ 

After  all,  the  objects  of  the  Spartan  education 
were  not  intellectual  acuteness  and  the  accumulation  of 
knowledge,  but  discipline,  endurance,  and  victory  in 
war.  Discipline  was  taught  by  the  perpetual  presence 
of  authority,  and  by  very  severe  punishments.  Spartan 
boys  were  practically  never  left  to  their  own  devices  : 
perhaps  that  is  the  secret  of  the  moral  failure  of  nearly 
every  Spartan  who  was  given  a  position  of  authority 
outside  Lakedaimon  ;  for  responsibility  requires  practice. 
Endurance  was  taught  by  their  whole  mode  of  life. 
They  went  barefooted,  with  a  single  garment,  played 
and  danced  naked  under  the  hot  Laconian  sun  ;  ^  there 
were  no  ointments  or  luxurious  baths  for  their  bodies, 
only  the  Eurotas  for  a  swim,  and  a  bundle  of  reeds  for 
a  bed.  The  food  which  the  boys  received  was  very 
scanty  :  often  they  were  turned  out  into  the  country  in 
the  early  morning  to  provide  food  for  themselves  for 
the  whole  day  by  stealing. 

This  organised    stealing  was  a  feature  of  Spartan 
education.      At    an   early  age,   as  we    have  seen,   the 

^  Luk.  against  Leokrates,  107.      The  Polemarchos  was  judge  in  these  singing 
competitions,  and  the  winner  received  a  bit  of  meat  (Philochorcs  in  Athen.  630  f.). 
2  Plato,  Laivsy  633  i. 


CHAP.  I     AT  SPARTA  AND  IN  CRETE  23 

small  boys  were  sent  out  to  steal  firewood  and  vege- 
tables for  the  Eiren  who  had  charge  of  them.  Later 
they  were  driven  out  into  the  country,  to  forage  for 
themselves  at  the  expense  of  the  farms.  There  was  a 
definite  age  at  which  it  was  customary  to  begin  stealing.^ 
The  articles  which  might  be  stolen  were  fixed  by 
law,  and  the  legal  limits  might  hot  be  transgressed.^ 
It  must  be  remembered  that  much  property  in 
Laconia  was  held  in  common.  Any  one,  for  instance, 
who  was  belated  while  hunting  might  take  what  food  he 
pleased  from  a  country  house,  and  even  break  open  seals 
to  get  at  provisions.  The  Spartans  also  used  one 
another's  dogs  and  horses  freely,  without  permission. 
It  is  therefore  absurd  to  say  that  the  system  taught  the 
boys  to  be  dishonest.  If  the  State  agrees  to  declare  certain 
articles  to  be  common  property,  it  is  no  longer  stealing 
if  one  citizen  removes  them  from  the  house  of  another  : 
he  is  no  more  dishonest  than  a  man  who  picks  black- 
berries or  buttercups  in  England.  At  one  of  the  English 
public  schools,  tooth-mugs  used  to  be  a  recognised 
article  of  plunder.  The  small  fags  were  expected  to 
keep  their  particular  dormitory  supplied  with  them,  at 
the  expense  of  others.  They  were  punished  by  the 
wronged  dormitory  if  caught  in  the  act  of  removing 
them  :  but  ingenuity  in  such  thefts  was  regarded  as 
praiseworthy.  There  was  a  certain  number  of  these 
mugs  belonging  to  the  whole  house  ;  they  were  common 
property,  and  could  therefore  be  purloined  without 
dishonesty. 

Moreover,  this  system  of  legalised  robbery  had  a 
valuable  educational  object  at  Sparta.  It  was  excellent 
training  in  scouting,  laying  ambushes,  and  foraging,  all 
of  which  it  is  very  important   that  a  future  soldier 

1  Plut.  Afoph.  5!  xen.  Anab.  iv.  6.  14. 


24  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

should  learn.  Xenophon,  a  soldier  himself,  notices  this, 
and  in  the  Anabasis^  when  he  needs  a  clever  strategist,  he 
selects  a  Spartan  because  he  has  been  educated  in  this 
way.  Since  this  was  the  object  of  the  system,  the  boys, 
if  caught,  were  flogged,  not  for  stealing,  but  for  stealing 
clumsily.  Isokrates  declares  that  skill  in  robbery  was 
the  road  to  the  highest  oflices  at  Sparta.  "  If  any 
one  can  show  that  this  is  not  the  branch  of  education 
which  the  Lacedaemonians  regard  as  the  most  im- 
portant," he  adds,  "  I  admit  that  I  have  not  spoken  a 
word  of  truth  in  my  life."  ^ 

These  foraging  expeditions  of  the  boys  prepared 
them  for  the  similar,  if  more  arduous,  duties  of  "  Secret 
Service "  ^  which  awaited  them  between  eighteen  and 
twenty.  Young  men  of  this  age  were  sent  in  bands 
to  the  different  districts  of  Laconia  for  long  periods, 
during  which  they  hid  in  the  woods,  slept  on  the  ground, 
attended  to  their  own  wants  without  a  servant,  and 
wandered  about  the  country  by  day  and  night.^  When 
it  appeared  good  to  them  or  their  chiefs  they  made 
sudden  attacks  on  the  Helots,  and  slaughtered  those 
who  seemed  ambitious  enough  to  be  dangerous,  the 
Ephors  declaring  war  on  their  serfs  yearly  in  order  that 
there  might  be  no  blood-guiltiness  attached  to  these 
assassinations.*  There  was  a  regular  officer  set  over  this 
secret  police,  who  no  doubt  directed  where  the  particular 
youths  should  go.^  At  a  critical  moment  of  the  Pelo- 
ponnesian  War,  2000  of  the  bravest  and  most  ambitious 
Helots  suddenly  "disappeared,"  probably  by  this  means.^ 
But  Plato  recognised  the  educational  value  of  such  a 

^  Isok.  Panath.  277.  ^  ^pviTTda,  KpyiTT-f]. 

^  Plato,  Laivs,  633  c. 

^  Plut.  Lukourgos,  28.     Isokrates  merely  mentions  that  the  Ephors  could  kill  as 
many  Helots  as  they  liked  {Panath.  271  b). 

"5  Plut.  Kleom.  28.  6  Thuc.  iv.  80. 


CHAP.  I     AT  SPARTA  AND  IN  CRETE  25 

system,  if  the  murders  were  omitted.  In  his  Laws'^ 
he  institutes  a  force  of  KpyirroC^  720  in  number,  who 
patrol  the  whole  country,  taking  the  twelve  districts  in 
turn,  so  as  to  gain  a  complete  acquaintance  with  it. 
They  have  all  the  farm-servants  and  beasts  at  their  dis- 
posal, for  digging  trenches,  making  fortifications,  roads, 
embankments,  and  reservoirs,  for  irrigation  works  and 
the  like.  The  similarity  of  name  suggests  similarity 
of  functions,  but  how  much  of  this  the  KpvirroL  at 
Sparta  did  cannot  be  fixed.  Probably  their  chief  work 
was  to  keep  watch  over  the  subject  populations, 
Perioikoi  and  Helots,  who  were  otherwise  left  almost 
entirely  to  their  own  devices. 

In  their  institutions  of  the  foraging  parties  and 
Secret  Service,  the  Spartans  show  a  clear  appreciation  of 
boy-nature,  as  well  as  a  keen  eye  for  methods  of  military 
training.  Moderns  are  beginning  to  realise  that  the 
average  boy  has  so  much  of  the  primitive  and  natural 
man  in  him  that,  unless  he  is  permitted  to  "  go  wild  " 
and  live  the  savage  life  at  intervals,  he  is  apt  to  become 
riotous  and  lawless.  Hence  in  recent  days  the  institu- 
tion of  camps  for  boys  in  England  and  "  Seton  Indians  " 
in  America.  The  Spartans,  alone  of  Hellenes,  fully 
recognised  this  peculiarity  of  boys,  and  met  it  with  the 
foraging  expeditions  and  secret  service.  The  Athenian 
boy  was  not  thus  provided  for  until  he  became  an 
ephebos ;  hence  the  Athenian  streets  were  full  of 
young  Hooligans,  while  the  aristocratic  lads  developed 
more  refined,  if  more  vicious,  methods  of  giving  vent 
to  their  instincts.  In  these  country-expeditions  alone 
the  Spartan  boys  had  an  opportunity  of  escaping  from 

^  Plato,  Laws,  763  b.  Some  have  supposed  that  KpviTTol  is  an  interpolation.  If 
so,  the  resemblance  must  have  been  close  enough  to  strike  a  commentator  who  knew 
Lakedaimon,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  ages  in  the  two  systems  are  different. 


26  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

the  presence  of  their  elders  and  developing  habits  of 
self-reliance  and  responsibility.  Had  Sparta  made  better 
use  of  these  opportunities,  the  fate  of  her  Empire  after 
Aigospotamoi  might  have  been  different. 

A  frequent  occupation  of  all  ages  at  Sparta  was 
hunting.  This,  too,  they  recognised  to  be  an  ex- 
cellent training  for  soldiers,  since  it  involved  courage 
in  meeting  wild  beasts,  skill  and  ingenuity  in  tracking 
them,  and  hardships  of  all  sorts  in  the  forests  and  on 
the  mountains.  Laconia  was  full  of  game,  and 
Laconian  hounds  were  famous.  The  successful  hunts- 
man gave  what  he  had  killed  to  enrich  the  meals  of 
his  dining-club,  and  so  won  much  popularity. 

Spartan  boys  must  also  have  learnt  to  ride,  for  they 
had  to  go  in  procession  on  horseback  at  the  festival  of 
Huakinthos.^  They  were  taught  to  swim,  too,  by 
their  daily  plunge  in  the  Eurotas.  A  great  part  of 
their  time  was  spent  in  gymnastics,  under  the  close 
inspection  of  their  elders.  Boxing  and  the  pankration 
were  forbidden  to  the  young  Spartan,  probably  because 
they  developed  a  few  particular  muscles  at  the  expense 
of  the  others.^  For  wrestling  no  scientific  trainers 
were  allowed  ;  the  Spartan  type  depended  solely  on 
strength  and  activity,  not  on  technical  skill ;  so  a  Spartan, 
when  beaten  by  a  wrestler  from  another  country,  said 
his  opponent  was  not  a  better  man,  but  only  a  cleverer 
wrestler.^  Gladiators,  such  as  those  mentioned  in 
Plato*s  Laches  as  teaching  the  use  of  arms,  were  not 
permitted  at  Sparta  ;  these,  however,  seem  to  have  been 
unpractical  theorists,  quite  useless  in  battle,  as  General 
Laches    shows    by    a    funny    anecdote    about    one    of 

^  Polulcrates  (in  Athen.  139  e).  ^  Aristot.  Pol.  viii.  4;   Plut.  Luk.  19. 

'  Plut.  Apoph.  233  E.     Plato  adopts  the  Spartan  views  about  wrestling  in  the 
Laivi, 


CHAP.  I     AT  SPARTA  AND  IN  CRETE  27 

them.^     No    lounging    spectators    were    permitted    in 

Spartan  gymnasia  ;   the  rule  was  "  strip  or  withdraw."  ^ 

The  eldest  man   in  each  gymnasium  had  to  see  that 

every  one  took  sufficient  exercise  to  work  off  his  food 

and  prevent  him  from  becoming  puffy.^     The  physical 

condition  of  the  boys  was  inspected  every  ten  days  by 

the  Ephors,^  while   the  competitions  of  the   epheboi 

seem  to  have  been  controlled  by  a  special  board,  the 

Bidiaioi,   who    figure    in    inscriptions.^     Aristotle   says 

of  the  whole  Spartan  discipline  that  it  made  the  boys 

[I        "  beast-like,"  ^  but  admits  that  it  did  not  produce  the 

'         one-sided  athlete,  so  common  in  Hellas,  who  looked 

solely  to  athletics,  and  was  too  much  specialised  to  be 

good  for  anything  else.     Xenophon  ^  says  that  it  would 

^K  be  hard  to  find  anywhere  men  with  more  healthy  or 

^B  more  serviceable  bodies  than  the  Spartiatai.     The  most 

^B  beautiful  man  in   the  Hellenic  army  at  Plataea  was  a 

^B  Spartan.^     The  Spartan  boys'  manners  were  in  some 

^V  ways  surprisingly  maidenlike.     When  they  went  along 

^B  the  highway,  they  kept  their  hands  under  their  coat, 

^B  and  walked  in  silence,  keeping  their  eyes  fixed  on  the 

^B  ground  before  their  feet.     They  spoke  as  rarely  as  a 

^B  statue    and    looked    about    them    less    than    a   bronze 

^^  figure  :    they  were  as  modest  as  a  girl.     When  they 

came  into  the  mess-room,  you  could  rarely  hear  them 

even  answer  a  question.^ 

Fighting  was  encouraged  at  all  ages  ;    there  were 

'  organised  battles,  somewhat  resembling  football  matches, 

for  the  epheboi,  in  a  shady  playing-field  surrounded  by 

^  Plato,  Laches,  183  d,  e.  2  piato,  Tkeait.  162  B  and  169  b. 

^  Xen.  Const  it.  of  Lak.  v.  8. 

^  Athen.  xii.  550  d.     Their  dress  and  bedding  was  inspected  at  the  same  time. 

^  Pausan.  iii.  11.  2.     ^LdeoSf  B5ckh,  1241,  1242  ;  ^idvot,  1254. 

^  Aristot.  Pol.  viii.  4.  i.  '  Xen.  Constit.  o/Lak.  v.  9. 

^  Herod,  ix.  72.  »  Xen.  Constit.  of  Lak.  ii.  4. 


28  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

rows  of  plane  trees  and  encircled  by  streams,  access 
to  it  being  given  by  two  bridges.  After  a  night 
spent  in  sacrifice,  two  teams  of  epheboi  proceeded 
to  this  field.  When  they  came  near  it,  they  drew 
lots,  and  the  winners  had  the  choice  of  bridges 
by  which  to  enter  the  ground,  selecting  no  doubt  in 
accordance  with  the  direction  of  sun  and  wind,  as  a 
modern  football  captain,  who  has  won  the  toss,  selects 
the  end  of  the  ground  from  which  he  will  start  playing. 
The  epheboi  fought  with  their  hands,  kicked,  bit,  and 
even  tore  out  one  another's  eyes,  in  the  endeavour  to 
drive  the  opposing  team  back  into  the  water.^ 

The  grown  men  were  also  encouraged  to  fight 
by  the  following  device.  The  Ephors  selected  three 
of  them,  who  were  called  Hippagretai.  Each  of  these 
three  selected  one  hundred  companions,  giving  a  public 
explanation  in  each  case  why  he  chose  one  man 
and  rejected  the  others.  So  those  who  had  been 
rejected  became  foes  to  those  who  were  selected,  and 
kept  a  close  watch  over  them  for  the  slightest  breach 
of  the  accepted  code  of  honour.  Each  party  was 
always  trying  to  increase  its  strength  or  perform  some 
signal  service  to  the  State,  in  order  to  strengthen  its 
own  claims.  The  rivals  also  fought  with  their  fists 
whenever  they  met.^ 

This  systematised  pugnaciousness  at  Sparta  presents 
an  interesting  parallel  to  the  German  University  duels 
and  to  the  fights  which  used  to  be  almost  daily 
occurrences  in  the  life  of  an  English  schoolboy.  Most 
of  the  older  English  public  schools  can  still  show  the 
special  ground  which  was  the  recognised  scene  of  these 
battles. 

Floggings    were    exceedingly    common    at    Sparta. 

1  Paus.  iii.  14.  2.  2  Xen.  Constit.  of  Lak.  iv. 


CHAP.  I     AT  SPARTA  AND  IN  CRETE  29 

Any  elder  man  might  flog  any  boy.  It  was  not 
etiquette  for  boys  to  complain  to  their  parents  in  these 
cases  ;  if  they  did  so,  they  received  a  second  thrashing. 
But  the  triumph  of  this  system  was  the  flogging  of  the 
"  epheboi "  yearly  at  the  altar  of  Artemis  Orthia,  in 
substitute  for  human  sacrifice.  Entrance  for  the  com- 
petition was  quite  voluntary,  but  competitors  seem 
always  to  have  been  forthcoming  even  down  to 
Plutarch's  days.  They  began  by  practice  of  some  sort 
in  the  country.^  The  altar  was  covered  with  blood  ;  if 
the  floggers  were  too  lenient  to  some  "  ephebos  "  owing 
to  his  beauty  or  reputation,  the  statue,  according  to  the 
legend,  performed  a  miracle  in  order  to  show  its  dis- 
pleasure.^ The  competitors  were  often  killed  on  the 
spot ;  but  they  never  uttered  a  groan.^  The  winner 
was  called  the  "  altar  -  victor "  (^co/jLovLKrf^;)  and  an 
inscription  still  records  such  a  victory.* 

The  girls  at  Sparta  were  also  organised  into  agelai 
or  "  packs.''  ^  They  took  their  meals  at  home,  but 
otherwise  lived  a  thoroughly  outdoor  life.  They  had 
to  train  their  bodies  no  less  than  the  boys,  in  order  that 
they  might  bear  strong  children,  so  they  took  part  in 
contests  of  strength  as  well  as  of  speed.^  They  shared 
in  the  gymnasia  and  in  the  musical  training.  Among 
their  sports  were  wrestling,  running,  and  swimming  ; 
they  were  exposed  to  sun  and  dust  and  toil.'''  They 
learned  to  throw  the  diskos  and  the  javelin ;  ^  they 
wore  only  the  short  Doric  "  chiton  "  with  split  sides.^ 

^  Hesychius,  ^oia^ip.  ^  Paus.  iii.  i6.  ii. 

■•*  Plut.  Lukourgos,  18  J  Cicero,  Tusc.  Disp.  v.  27. 
*  B5ckh,  1364. 

^  Pindar,  Frag.  Hyporch.  8  X6.Kai.va  irapdivuv  d7^\a. 
^  Xen.  Constit.  of  Lak.  i.  4.  '  Cicero,  Tusc.  Disp.  ii.  15. 

^  Plut.  Lukourgos,  14. 

^  Whence  they  were  called   (paivofii^pides.     This   chiton   may  be   seen   in   the 
conventional  statues  of  Artemis. 


30  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

They  went  in  procession  at  festivals  like  the  boys  ;  at 
certain  festivals  they  danced  and  sang  in  the  presence  of 
the  young  men,  praising  the  brave  among  them  and 
jeering  at  the  cowards.  At  the  Huakinthia  the  maidens 
raced  on  horseback.  Theokritos  makes  a  band  of  240 
maidens,  **  all  playmates  together,  anoint  themselves 
like  men  and  race  beside  the  Eurotas."  ^  That  passage 
also  gives  wool-work  to  Laconian  maidens  ^  (which  is 
probably  untrue,  being  contradicted  by  Plato), ^  and 
lyre-playing,  which  is  contradicted  by  a  Laconian  in 
Plutarch,  who  says  that  "  such  rubbish  is  not  Laconian.'* 
The  result  of  all  this  outdoor  training  was  great 
physical  perfection  :  Lampito,  the  Spartan  woman  in 
Aristophanes'  Lusistrata^  is  greatly  admired  by  the 
women  from  other  cities  for  her  beauty,  her  complexion, 
and  her  bodily  condition  :  "  she  looks  as  though  she 
could  throttle  a  bull."  She  ascribes  it  to  her  gymnastics 
and  vigorous  dancing.^  The  girls  till  they  married 
wore  no  veil,  and  mixed  freely  with  the  young  men  ; 
in  fact,  there  was  one  dance  where  they  met  in  modern 
fashion  ;  first  the  youth  danced  some  military  steps, 
and  then  the  maiden  danced  some  of  a  suitable  sort.^ 
Consequently  love-matches  were  far  more  possible  at 
Sparta  than  elsewhere  in  Hellas.  After  marriage 
the  women  had  to  wear  veils,  and  remained  at  home  ; 
gymnastics,  dances,  and  races  ceased. 

The  Spartans  were  intensely  fond  of  dancing,  but  it 
must  be  remembered  that  they  often  called  dancing 
what  moderns  would  call  drill.  For  war  was  almost  a 
form  of  dance  ;  they  marched  or  charged  into  battle  to 

1  Theok.  Idyll  18.  23.  2  l^'ws,  806  a. 

*  Lusistrata,  1.  80  onwards.     In  the  play  Lampito  is  married.     Aristophanes  has 
either  made  a  mistake  or  the  gymnastics  are  meant  to  be  in  the  past  only. 

*  The  dpfioi  dance.     Compare  the  dance  at  the  end  of  the  Lusistrata,  where 
"man  stands  by  woman,  and  woman  by  man." 


CHAP.  I     AT  SPARTA  AND  IN  CRETE  31 

the  notes  of  the  flute,  crowned  and  wearing  red  cloaks. 
The  march  tunes  were  in  frequent  use  in  Sparta,  no 
doubt  at  military  exercises.  Every  day  the  epheboi 
were  drawn  up  in  ranks,  one  behind  the  other,  and 
went  through  military  evolutions  and  dancing  figures 
alternately,  while  a  flutist  played  to  them  and  beat  time 
with  his  foot.-^  This  is  simply  musical  drill.  The 
great  national  festival  of  the  Gumnopaidia  was  very 
similar.  Three  great  battalions,  consisting  respectively 
of  old  men,  young  men,  and  boys,  drawn  up  in  rank 
and  file,  exhibited  various  movements,  chiefly  of  a 
gymnastic  sort,  singing  the  songs  of  Thaletas  and 
Alkman  and  Dionusodotos  the  while  and  indulging  in 
impromptu  jesting  at  one  another's  expense,  after  the 
fashion  of  a  rustic  revel-chorus  in  Attica.  Sometimes 
the  battalions  appeared  one  by  one,  and  were  "  led  out " 
like  an  army,  by  the  Ephors.^  On  other  occasions  all 
three  were  drawn  up  in  crescent  formation  side  by  side, 
with  the  boys  in  the  middle.  The  festival  must  have 
closely  resembled  the  public  parades  of  the  gymnastic 
clubs  in  Switzerland.  There  were  posts  of  honour  and 
dishonour,  as  in  battle,  cowards  usually  receiving  the 
latter.  But  Agesilaos,  the  king,  once  received  an 
inferior  station  after  his  victory  at  Corinth,  and  turned 
the  insult  by  a  jest,  "  Well  thought  of,  chorus-leader  : 
that's  the  way  to  give  honour  to  the  post."^  Then 
there  was  the  war-dance,  imitating  all  the  actions  of 
battle,  a  sort  of  manual  and  bayonet  exercise,  but 
accompanied  by  much  acting  and  by  music.  Every 
Spartan  boy  began  to  learn  this  as  soon  as  he  was  five."* 
It  was  done  in  quick  time,  if  we  may  judge  by  the 
"Pyrrhic"  or  war-dance  foot  (^^).     There  was  also 

^  Lucian,  Dancing,  274.  2  Xen.  Hellen.  vi.  4.  16. 

3  Xen.  Ag.  ii.  17.  4  Athen.  630  a. 


32  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

a  wrestling-dance,-^  and  most  gymnastics  were  done 
to  the  accompaniment  of  the  flute.  In  fact,  chorus- 
dancing  was  a  regular  part  of  the  education  of  Spartans 
and  Cretans  :  the  only  experience  of  singing  which 
most  of  them  possessed  was  acquired  in  this  way.^  It  is 
true  that  elegiacs  were  sung  as  solos  before  the  king's 
tent  on  campaigns,  and  at  meals,  when  the  victor  got 
a  particularly  good  slice  of  meat  ;  but  probably  this 
accomplishment  was  confined  to  a  few.  Aristotle  asserts 
that  the  Laconians  did  not  learn  songs,  but  claimed 
nevertheless  to  be  able  to  distinguish  good  from  bad. 

Such  was  the  Spartan  system  of  education.  To  an 
Englishman  their  schools  have  a  greater  interest  than 
those  of  any  other  ancient  State.  Sparta  produced  the 
only  true  boarding-schools  of  antiquity.  The  "  packs  " 
of  the  Spartan  boys,  like  the  English  public  schools, 
formed  miniature  States,  to  whose  corporate  interests 
and  honour  each  boy  learned  to  make  his  own  wishes 
subservient.  Spartan  boys,  too,  like  our  own,  had 
the  smaller  traits  of  individuality  rubbed  off  them  by 
the  publicity  and  perpetual  intercourse  with  others 
involved  in  the  boarding-school  system,  in  order  that 
the  racial  characteristics  might  the  more  emerge  in 
them.  They,  too,  learnt  endurance  by  hardship,  and 
were  early  trained  both  to  rule  and  to  obey  by  means 
of  the  institution  of  prefects  and  fagging.  But  here 
the  resemblance  stops  short.  The  Spartans,  like  most 
other  nations,  were  not  prepared  to  pay  the  price  at 
which  alone  an  education  in  responsibility  can  be 
obtained,  the  price  which  lies  in  the  possible  ruin  of 
all  the  boys  who  are  not  strong  enough  to  be  a  law 
to   themselves.     They    very   rarely   left    the    boys   to 

1  Athen.  678  b.  2  piato,  Laws,  666  d. 


CHAP.  I     AT  SPARTA  AND  IN  CRETE  33 

themselves  without  grown  men  to  look  after  them. 
They  were  always  interfering  and  supervising,  instead 
of  leaving  the  prefects  to  exercise  their  authority.  And 
so,  when  Spartans  were  sent  abroad  to  govern  cities 
or  command  armies,  having  had  no  practice  in  re- 
sponsibility, they  failed  shamefully  and  ignominiously. 
But  this  is  equally  true  of  the  Athenians  and  of  other 
Hellenes.  The  Spartans  deserve  all  credit  for  their 
experiments  with  the  boarding-school  system. 

But  the  system  which  they  adopted  had  many 
faults,  besides  that  which  has  already  been  noticed. 
There  was  no  individual  attention  for  the  boys. 
The  hardships  were  excessive  and  brutalising.  While 
the  boys*  bodies  were  developed  and  trained  almost  to 
perfection,  their  minds  were  almost  entirely  neglected  : 
hence  the  stupidities  of  Spartan  policy  and  the 
lack  of  imagination  which  their  statesmen  showed. 
It  was  impossible  to  over-eat  or  over-drink  under  the 
Spartan  system,  so  the  young  Spartan  had  no  experience 
in  self-restraint.-^  The  gymnasia  and  dining-clubs 
caused  a  great  deal  of  quarrelling  (which  the  Spartan 
authorities  welcomed),  and  of  immorality  (which  was 
very  strictly  forbidden)  ;  the  Spartan  gymnasia  erred 
less,  however,  in  this  latter  respect  than  the  Athenian. 
In  war  the  Spartans  were  only  invincible  so  long  as 
they  were  the  only  trained  troops  in  Hellas  ;  the  rise 
of  professional  armies  ruined  them,  for  they  could  not 
adapt  themselves  to  new  circumstances.  They  produced 
no  art  and  very  little  literature,  if  any.  But  their 
whole  State  was  as  much  a  work  of  art  as  a  Doric 
temple,  and  of  very  much  the  same  order,  with  its 
symmetry  and  regularity,  its  sacrifice  of  detail  to  the 
whole,  its   strength   and   restraint.       It  was   also   the 

1  Latvs,  634-635. 


34  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

inspiration  of  at   least   one  great   piece    of  literature, 
Plato's  Republic. 

If  courage  was  their  sole  object,  as  perhaps  it  was, 
they  succeeded  in  obtaining  it.  The  coward  was  a 
rare,  and  a  most  unhappy  bird  at  Sparta.  Mothers  on 
several  occasions  killed  sons  who  returned  home  from 
a  campaign  disgraced.  "  No  one  would  mess  with  a 
coward,  or  consort  with  him.  When  rival  teams  were 
chosen  for  the  game  of  ball,  he  was  omitted.  In  dances 
he  received  the  post  of  dishonour.  He  was  avoided  in 
the  streets.  No  one  would  sit  next  to  him.  He  could 
not  find  a  husband  for  his  daughters  or  a  wife  for 
himself,"  and  was  punished  for  these  offences.  "He 
was  beaten  if  he  imitated  his  betters  in  any  way."  ^ 
If  the  Hellenes  were  a  nation  of  children,  as  the  old 
Egyptian  called  them,  the  Spartans  were  at  least  a 
manly  sort  of  schoolboy.  They  deified  the  schoolboy 
virtues,  pluck  and  endurance.  If  we  wish  to  see  how 
far  their  education,  in  its  best  days,  enabled  them  to 
prove  true  to  their  ideals,  let  us  consider  those  300 
at  Thermopylae  waiting,  with  jests  on  their  lips,  for 
the  onset  of  Oriental  myriads,  and  remember  that 
finest  of  all  epitaphs,  of  which  English  can  give  no 
rendering,  written  upon  their  memorial  in  the  pass  in 
honour  of  their  obedience  unto  death — 

Go  tell  the  Spartans,  thou  that  passest  by, 
That  here,  obedient  to  their  laws,  we  lie. 

The  Cretan  system  of  education  was  very  similar 
in  many  ways  to  the  Spartan.  In  both  localities  the 
teaching  was  given  by  any  elder  member  of  the 
community  who  chose,  not  by  a  professional  and  paid 
class    of  masters.     But    in    Crete    education    cost   the 

^  Xen,  Constit.  of  Lak.  ix.  5. 


CHAP.  I     AT  SPARTA  AND  IN  CRETE  35 

parent  even  less  than  at  Sparta  ;  for  the  boys  were 
fed  largely  at  public  cost.^  But  so  was  every  other 
Cretan,  male  and  female  alike.  Each  community  pos- 
sessed large  public  estates,  cultivated  by  public  serfs.^ 
The  revenues  thus  accruing  to  the  State  were  applied 
to  the  expenses  of  government,  which  were  small,  and  to 
the  food-supply  of  all  citizens.  Thus  men,  women, 
and  children  were  all  fed  mainly  at  public  cost.  It 
may  be  noted,  however,  that  there  is  no  question  of 
providing  the  children  of  improvident  parents  with 
meals  at  the  expense  of  more  provident  citizens.  More- 
over, the  heads  of  families,  who  each  possessed  an 
allotment,  as  at  Sparta,  had  to  contribute  a  tenth  of  the 
produce  of  their  estates. 

The  women-folk  took  their  meals  at  home,^  although 
the  cost  of  their  food  was  mainly  defrayed  by  the 
public  revenues.  The  men  took  their  meals  in  dining- 
clubs  (avSpeia).  The  whole  population  of  each  com- 
munity was  divided  into  clubs  of  this  sort,  apparently 
on  the  family  basis,  so  that  two  or  three  families  made 
up  a  club  between  them,  to  which  their  children  and 
descendants  would  in  turn  belong.  All  the  males  of 
the  family  attended  these  meals  ;  small  children,  boys, 
and  young  men  as  well  as  elders  are  all  mentioned  as 
being  present  at  the  same  dinners.^  The  club  is  only 
an  enlarged  family  party.  The  small  children  sat  on  the 
ground  behind  their  fathers  ;  they  waited  on  themselves 
and  on  their  elders,  but  the  general  superintendence  of 
cooking  and  attendance  was  in  the  hands  of  a  woman 
with  three  or  four  public  slaves  and  some  underlings 
in  her   control.^     As  they  grew   older,    the   sons   sat 

1  Aristot.  Pol.  ii.  lo.  8. 

^  Additional  revenues  for  the  same  objects  were  derived  from  the  taxes  paid  by 
Perioikoi  and  serfs  (Athen.  143  a,  b).  ^  Plato,  Laws,  781  a. 

*  Historians  quoted  by  Athen.  143  e.  ^  Ibid. 


36  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

beside  their  fathers.  Boys  ordinarily  received  half 
what  their  parents  had  ;  but  orphans  were  allowed  the 
full  quantity  at  their  dead  father's  club. 

Thus  the  Cretan  club  was  an  amalgamation  of 
several  families  into  a  sort  of  clan,  whose  male 
members  all  dined  together.  All  the  boys  of  the 
clan  formed  one  boarding-school.  They  all  slept 
in  one  room,  perhaps  attached  to  the  dining-hall  ; 
there  was  always  a  dormitory  attached  to  each  of  these 
buildings  for  visitors  from  other  cities,  so  it  would 
be  natural  to  expect  a  dormitory  for  the  children  also. 
The  boys  took  their  meals  in  the  club  dining-hall,  in 
the  presence  of  their  elders,  by  whose  improving 
conversations  upon  politics  and  morals  they  were 
supposed  to  be  educated.  These  elder  members  elected 
one  of  their  number  to  serve  as  TratSoz^o/io?  or  "  Super- 
intendent of  the  boys ''  of  their  club.^  Under  his 
directions  the  boys  learned  letters  "  in  moderation  " : 
they  were  constantly  practised  in  gymnastics,  in  the 
use  of  arms,  especially  the  bow,  which  was  a  great 
Cretan  weapon,  and  in  the  war-dances,  the  Kuretic  and 
Pyrrhic,  both  indigenous  in  Crete.  They  learned  the 
laws  of  their  country  set  to  a  sort  of  tune,  in  order 
that  their  souls  might  be  drawn  by  the  music,  and  also, 
that  they  might  more  easily  remember  them.  In  this 
way,  if  they  did  anything  which  was  forbidden,  they 
had  not  the  excuse  of  ignorance.^  Besides  this,  they 
were  taught  hymns  to  the  gods,  and  praises  of  good 
men.  The  favourite  metre  for  these  purposes  was  the 
Cretic  (-v>-),  which  was  regarded  as  "severe"  and 
so  suitable  for  teaching  courage  and  restraint.^     The 

1  Strabo,  x.  4.  483  (on  authority  of  Ephoros),  and  Herakleides  Pont.  iii.  (who 
provide  most  of  the  details  about  Crete). 

2  Aelian,  True  History,  ii.  39.  ^  Strabo,  x.  4.  480. 


CHAP.  I     AT  SPARTA  AND  IN  CRETE  37 

Paean  was  their  chief  national  form  of  song.  Cretan 
boys  were  also  practised  in  that  terse  and  somewhat 
humorous  style  of  speaking  which  we  have  already 
seen  at  Sparta.-^ 

Cretan  boys  were  always  fighting  either  single 
combats  or  combined  battles  against  the  boys  of 
another  club-school.  They  were  taught  endurance  by 
many  hardships.  They  wore  only  a  short  coat  in 
summer  and  winter  alike.  They  learnt  to  despise 
heat  and  cold  and  mountain  paths  and  the  blows  which 
they  received  in  gymnasia  and  in  fighting. 

They  remained  in  the  club -schools  till  their 
seventeenth  year,^  when  they  became  epheboi  and  cele- 
brated their  escape  from  the  garb  of  childhood  by  a 
special  festival.^  Like  their  contemporaries  at  Athens, 
the  epheboi  took  a  special  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
State  and  hatred  towards  its  enemies.  A  fragment 
still  survives  of  the  oath  taken  by  the  epheboi  of 
Dreros,  near  Knossos.^  At  seventeen  the  epheboi  were 
collected  into  "  packs "  (^ayeXao)  by  private  enterprise. 
A  rich  and  distinguished  young  ephebos  would  gather 
round  him  as  large  a  pack  of  his  contemporaries  as  he 
could  ;  their  numbers  no  doubt  depended  partly  on  his 
wealth,  and  still  more  on  his  personal  popularity.  The 
aristocratic  element  in  this  arrangement  is  very  notice- 
able, as  in  all  the  institutions  of  Crete  as  contrasted 
with  Sparta.  The  father  of  this  young  chief  usually 
acted  as  leader  of  the  pack  (ayekaTrjs;)  ;  he  possessed 
full  authority  over  them  and  could  punish  them  as  he 
pleased.  He  led  them  out  on  hunting  expeditions  and 
to  the  "Runs"  (^Bpo/jboc),  that  is,  the  gymnasia  of  the 

^  Sosikrates  (in  Athen.  261  e),  speaking  of  Phaistos. 

^  Hesychius,  drrdyeXos.  ^  iKdixnay  Antoninus  Liberalis,  18. 

*  Mahaffy,  p.  81  j  Grasberger,  iii.  61. 


38  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

epheboi.  Cretans  who  had  not  yet  entered  a  pack  of 
epheboi  were  excluded  from  these  runs  {airo^pofioi)  ; 
when  they  entered,  they  were  called  "  members  of 
packs"  (dye\a<TTOL)}  The  pack -leader  could  collect 
his  followers  where  he  pleased ;  ^  very  possibly  the 
epheboi  did  not  attend  the  club  dinners  ordinarily,  but 
fed  or  slept  either  at  their  patron's  house  (whence  the 
need  of  a  rich  pack-leader)  or  in  some  special  room. 
They  thus  corresponded  closely  to  the  Spartan  boys  of 
a  younger  age  under  their  Eiren.  Their  food  was 
supplied,  like  that  of  all  Cretans,  largely  out  of  the 
public  revenues.  On  certain  fixed  days  "  pack  "  joined 
battle  with  "  pack  '*  to  the  sound  of  the  lyre  and  flutes 
and  in  regular  time,  as  was  the  custom  in  war  ;  fists, 
clubs,  and  even  weapons  of  iron  might  be  used.  It 
was  a  regular  institution,  half  dance,  half  field-day,  with 
fixed  rules  and  imposed  by  law.  These  battles  must 
have  closely  resembled  the  contests  of  the  Spartan 
epheboi  in  the  shady  playing-fields.  The  life  of  the 
boys  was  surrounded  with  a  military  atmosphere 
throughout.  They  wore  military  dress  and  counted 
their  weapons  their  most  valuable  possessions.  Young 
Cretans  remained  in  the  packs  till  after  marriage. 
Then  they  returned  to  their  homes  and  the  clubs. 

Of  the  practical  results  of  Cretan  education  nothing 
can  be  said.  From  the  day  when  Idomeneus  sets  sail 
from  Troy,  Crete  almost  disappears  from  Hellenic 
history.  Too  strong  to  be  attacked  by  their  neighbours, 
too  much  weakened  by  intestine  feuds  to  assume  the 
aggressive,  the  Cretans  remained  aloof  from  their 
compatriots  on  the  mainland  and  in  the  archipelago 
till  the  close  of  the  period  of  Hellenic  independence. 

^  Eustathius  on  //.  ix.  518.  ^  Herakl.  Pont.  iii.  3. 


CHAP.  I     AT  SPARTA  AND  IN  CRETE 


39 


APPENDIX   A 

SPARTAN    SYSSITIA 

These  dining-clubs  were  organised  like  "  diminutive  states."  ^ 
It  was  enacted  who  was  to  recline  in  the  most  important 
place,  who  in  the  second,  and  so  on,  and  who  was  to  sit  on  the 
footstool,  which  was  the  place  of  dishonour,  usually  assigned 
only  to  children.  "Each  man  is  given  a  portion  to  himself, 
which  he  does  not  share  with  any  one.  They  have  as  much 
barley  bread  as  they  like,  and  there  is  an  earthenware  cup  of 
wine  standing  by  each  man,  for  him  to  put  his  lips  to  when  he 
feels  disposed.  The  chief  dish  is  always  the  same  for  all, 
boiled  pork.  There  is  plenty  of  Spartan  broth,  and  some  olives, 
cheese,  and  figs.^ 

"Each  contributes  to  his  mess  about  i8  gallons  of  barley 
meal,  60  or  70  pints  of  wine,  and  a  small  quantity  of  figs  and 
cheese,  and  10  Aeginetan  obols  for  extras."  This  contribution 
no  doubt  covered  expenses,  for  the  quantity  sent  by  an  absentee 
king,  probably  representing  the  average  consumption  of  an 
individual,  falls  well  within  this  estimate  (cf.  Herod,  vi.  57). 
After  the  regular  meaP  an  eTraiKXov  or  extra  meal  might  be 
served.  It  would  be  provided  by  a  member  of  the  mess, 
consisting  either  of  the  results  of  hunting  or  the  produce 
of  his  farm,  for  nothing  might  be  bought.  The  ordinary 
components  of  such  a  meal  were  pigeons,  geese,  fieldfares, 
blackbirds,  hares,  lambs,  and  kids,  and  wheaten  bread,  a 
welcome  change  from  the  usual  barley  loaves.  The  cooks 
proclaimed  the  name  of  the  giver,  so  that  he  might  get  the 
credit.  eVatKAa  were  often  exacted  as  fines  for  offences  from 
rich  members  ;  the  poor  had  to  pay  laurel  leaves  or  reeds. 
There  was  also  a  special  sort  of  iiraiKXov  designed  for  the 
children,  barley  meal  soaked  in  olive  oil — a  sort  of  porridge,  in 

^  Persaeus  ap.  Athen.  140  f. 
2  Dicaearchus  ap.  Athen.  141  a. 
^  Sphaerus  ap.  Athen.  141  c,  d.  ;  and  Molpis,  ibid. 


40  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

fact.     According  to  Nicocles  the  Laconian,  this  was  swallowed 
in  laurel  leaves — which  does  not  sound  very  inviting. 

There  were  also  banquets  independent  of  the  messes. 
These  were  called  KOTrtSes.^  Tents  were  set  up  in  the  sacred 
enclosure  round  the  temple  of  the  deity  in  whose  honour  the 
feast  was  given.  Heaps  of  brushwood  covered  with  carpets 
served  for  couches.  The  food  consisted  of  slices  of  meat, 
round  buns,  cheese,  slices  of  sausage,  and  for  dessert  dried  figs 
and  various  beans. 

At  the  Tithenidia,  or  Nurses'  Feast,  a  kottis  was  given  at 
the  temple  of  Artemis  Koruthalia  by  the  stream  Tiassos.^  The 
nurses  brought  the  boy- babies  to  it.  The  sacrifice  was  a 
sucking  pig,  and  baked  loaves  were  served.  The  Ko-n-iSes  were 
evidently  a  feature  of  Spartan  life  :  Epilukos  makes  his  "  laddie  " 
{K(i)paXL(TKos)  remark,  "I  will  go  to  the  kottls  in  Amuklai  at 
Appellas'  house,  where  will  be  buns  and  loaves  and  jolly  good 
broth  "  :  which  shows  that  the  children's  parties  at  Sparta  were 
regarded  as  attractive. 

The  Karneia,  the  great  Spartan  festival,  was  an  imitation 
of  camp-life.^  The  sacrificial  meal  was  served  in  tents,  each 
containing  nine  men,  and  everything  was  done  to  the  word  of 
command. 


APPENDIX   B 

CRETAN    SYSSITIA 

The  chief  authorities  for  the  attendance  at  these  meals  are  the 
two  historians,  Dosiades  and  Purgion,  quoted  in  Athenaeus  (143). 
Dosiades  states  that  an  equal  portion  is  set  before  each  man 
present,  but  to  the  younger  members  is  given  a  half  portion  of 
meat,  and  they  do  not  touch  any  of  the  other  things.  Purgion 
says  :  "  To  the  sons,  who  sit  on  lower  seats  by  their  fathers' 
chairs,  they  give  a  half  portion  of  what  is  supplied  to  the 
men  ;    orphans  receive  a  full  share."     The  comparison  of  the 

^  Polemon  ap.  Athen.  56  a,  and  138-139. 

Cp.  the  creche  temples  in  Plato's  Laws,  794  a. 
Demetrius  of  Scepsis  {ap.  Athen.  141  e). 


CHAP.  I     AT  SPARTA  AND  IN  CRETE  41 

two  passages  shows  that  the  "  younger  members  "  mentioned 
by  Dosiades  are  what  Purgion  calls  the  orphans,  and  that 
they  are  not  yet  full-grown  men.  Thus  they  must  be  either 
the  boys  or  the  epheboi.  It  is  not,  however,  at  all  Hkely 
that  the  epheboi,  who  were  of  military  age  and  engaged  in 
violent  exercises,  would  be  given  only  half  rations,  so  these 
younger  members  are  the  boys  not  yet  included  in  the  aycAat. 
Dosiades  continues  :  "  On  each  table  is  set  a  drinking  vessel, 
of  weak  wine.  This  all  who  sit  at  the  common  table  share 
equally.  The  children  have  a  bowl  to  themselves,"  that  is, 
the  boys  who  sat  beside  their  fathers  but  not  at  the  table. 
"After  supper  first  they  discuss  the  political  situation,  and 
then  recall  feats  in  battle,  and  praise  those  who  have  dis- 
tinguished themselves,  encouraging  the  youngers  to  heroism." 
The  quotation  shows  that  not  merely  the  small  children  are 
in  question,  but  boys  of  an  age  to  understand  politics  and  war. 


CHAPTER   II 

ATHENS    AND    THE    REST    OF    HELLAS  I 
GENERAL    INTRODUCTION 

Laconia  and  Crete  were  mainly  agricultural  countries 
that  had  little  concern  with  trade  or  manufactures. 
Their  citizens  comprised  a  landed  aristocracy,  supported 
by  estates  which  were  cultivated  for  them  by  a  subject 
population  ;  there  was  no  necessity,  therefore,  for  them 
to  prepare  their  boys  for  any  profession  or  trade,  or 
even  to  instruct  them  in  the  principles  of  agriculture. 
The  young  Spartan  or  Cretan  no  more  needed  profes- 
sional or  technical  instruction  of  any  sort  than  the  richer 
absentee  Irish  landlords  of  the  present  day.  He  could 
give  the  whole  of  his  school-time,  without  any  sacrifice 
of  his  financial  prospects,  to  the  training  of  his  body 
and  of  his  character. 

But  the  rest  of  Hellas  was  for  the  most  part  the 
scene  of  busy  manufactures  and  extensive  trade.  It 
would  be  natural  to  expect  that  great  commercial 
peoples,  like  the  Athenians  or  the  lonians  of  Asia 
Minor,  would  have  set  great  store  by  the  commercial 
elements  of  education,  and  to  assume  that  business 
methods  and  utilitarian  branches  of  study  would  have 
occupied  a  large  place  in  their  schools.  But  this  was 
very  far  from  being  the  case.     To  a  Hellene  education 

42 


CHAP.  II     GENERAL  INTRODUCTION  43 

meant  the  training  of  character  and  taste,  and  the 
symmetrical  development  of  body,  mind,  and  imagina- 
tion. He  would  not  have  included  under  so  honourable 
a  name  either  any  course  of  instruction  in  which  the 
pupils  mastered  their  future  trade  or  profession,  or  any 
accumulation  of  knowledge  ^undertaken  with  the  object 
of  making  money.  Consequently  technical  training  of 
all  sorts  was  excluded  from  Hellenic  schools  and  passed 
over  in  silence  by  Hellenic  educationalists.  Information 
concerning  it  must  be  pieced  together  from  stray  facts 
and  casual  allusions,  and  the  whole  idea  of  "  utilitarian  " 
instruction,  in  the  modern  sense  of  the  word,  must  be 
carefully  put  aside  during  any  consideration  of  Hellenic 
schools. 

For  the  Hellenes  as  a  nation  regarded  all  forms  of 
handicraft  as  bourgeois  ((3dvava-o^)  and  contemptible. 
Herodotos  says  that  they  derived  this  view  from  the 
surrounding  peoples,  who  all  held  it.^  To  do  any- 
thing in  order  to  extract  money  from  some  one  else 
was,  in  their  opinion,  vulgar  and  ungentlemanly.  The 
lyric  poets  and  the  Sophists  were  alike  blamed  for  taking 
fees.  The  cheapness  and  abundance  of  serf-  or  slave- 
labour  made  it  possible  for  a  large  proportion  of  the 
free  population  to  live  in  idleness,  and  devote  their  time 
to  the  development  of  the  body  by  physical  exercises, 
of  the  mind  by  perpetual  discussions,  and  of  the 
imagination  by  art  and  music.  Citizenship  required 
leisure,  in  the  days  before  representative  government 
came  into  vogue.  It  was  owing  to  this  principle  that 
the  Athenian  received  pay  for  a  day's  attendance  in  the 
Law  Courts  or  the  Assembly,  for  by  this  means  the 
poorest  citizen  obtained  an  artificial  leisure  for  the  per- 
formance of  his  duties.     Otherwise  true  citizenship  was 

^  Herod,  ii.  167.     Corinth  was  an  exception. 


44  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

impossible.  Plato  regards  a  tradesman  as  unfit  to  be  an 
acting  citizen.^  Aristotle  rejects  as  unworthy  of  a  free 
man  all  trades  which  interfere  with  bodily  development 
or  take  time  which  ought  to  be  devoted  to  mental  im- 
provement.^ Xenophon  explains  the  reason  of  this 
attitude.  The  discredit  which  attaches  to  the  bourgeois 
occupations  is  quite  natural  ;  for  they  ruin  the  physical 
condition  of  those  who  practise  them,  compelling  them 
to  sit  down  and  live  in  the  shade,  and  in  some  cases  to 
spend  their  day  by  the  fire.  The  body  thus  becomes 
effeminate,  and  the  character  is  weakened  at  the  same 
time.  Tradesmen,  too,  have  less  leisure  for  serving 
their  friends  and  the  State.  In  some  communities, 
especially  the  most  warlike,  the  citizens  are  not  allowed 
to  practise  sedentary  trades.^  The  owner  of  a  factory 
or  a  farm  worked  by  slave-labour  was  exempt  from 
corrupting  influences  :  it  was  only  actual  work  which 
was  degrading. 

A  large  number,  however,  from  among  the  poorer 
classes  were  compelled  to  work  with  their  own  hands  ; 
so  these,  as  well  as  the  slaves,  required  technical  instruc- 
tion. Some  indications  survive  as  to  the  manner  in 
which  this  was  imparted.  Trades  were  mostly  heredi- 
tary ;  "  the  sons  of  the  craftsmen  learn  their  fathers* 
trade,  so  far  as  their  fathers  and  their  friends  of  the 
same  trade  can  teach  it."*  But  others  might  also  learn. 
Xenophon  mentions  such  cases.  "  When  you  apprentice 
a  boy  to  a  trade,"  he  says,  *'  you  draw  up  a  statement 
of  what  you  mean  him  to  be  taught,"  ^  and  the  fees  were 
not  paid  unless  this  agreement  was  carried  out.  The 
Kleitophon  ^    mentions    as    the    two    functions    of    the 

^  Plato,  Laws,  846  d.  ^  Arist.  Pol.  viii,  2.  4. 

^  Xen.  Econ.  iv.  3.     Sitting  was  regarded  as  a  slavish  attitude,  since  the  free  citizen 
mostly  stood  or  lay  down.     Xen.  Econ.  iv.  3.  ^  Plato,  Protag.  328  a. 

^  Xen.  Re'venues,  ii.  2.  ^  Plato,  Kleitophon,  409  b. 


CHAP.  II     GENERAL  INTRODUCTION 


45 


builder  or  the  doctor  the  practising  of  their  profession 
and  the  teaching  of  pupils.  The  Republic  ^  says  :  "If 
owing  to  poverty  a  craftsman  is  unable  to  provide  the 
books  and  other  requisites  of  his  calling,  his  work  will 
suffer,  and  his  sons  and  any  others  whom  he  may  be 
teaching  will  not  learn  their  trade  so  well."  The 
teaching  of  building  is  mentioned  in  the  Gorgias} 
In  the  Republic^  Plato  states  that  the  Tra^Se?  of  the 
potters — a  word  which  will  include  both  sons  and 
apprentices — act  as  servants  and  look  on  for  a  long  time 
before  they  are  allowed  to  try  their  hands  themselves  at 
making  pots.  "  To  learn  pot-making  on  a  wine-jar  " 
was  a  proverb  for  beginning  with  the  most  difficult  part 
of  a  subject.  The  pupils  of  a  doctor  named  Pittalos  are 
mentioned  in  the  Acharnians  of  Aristophanes.^  The 
comic  poets  of  the  early  third  century  contain  several 
references  to  cookery-schools.  Sosipater  makes  one 
cook  say  that  his  pupils  must  learn  astrology,  architec- 
ture, and  strategy  before  they  come  to  him,  just  as  Plato 
had  exacted  a  preliminary  knowledge  of  mathematics 
from  his  disciples.  Euphron  gives  ten  months  as  the 
minimum  length  of  a  course  of  cookery.  Aristotle 
mentions  a  man  at  Syracuse  who  taught  slaves  how  to 
wait  at. table,  and  perform  their  household  duties  :  per- 
haps the  play  of  Pherekrates^  entitled  The  Slave- 
Teacher  may  have  dealt  with  a  similar  case.  From 
these  fragments* a  picture  can  be  drawn  of  a  regular 
system  of  apprenticeship  by  which  the  knowledge  of  the 
trades  was  handed  down.  Solon,  wishing  to  encourage 
Athenian  manufactures,  had  enacted  that  if  a  father 
did  not  have  his  son  taught  some  trade,  he  could  not 

1  Plato,  Rep.  421  E.  ^  Plato,  Gorg.  514  B. 

3  Plato,  Rep.  467  A.  *  Aristoph.  Acharn.  1032. 

^  The  fifth-century  comic  poet. 


46  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

legally  demand  to  be  supported  in  his  old  age.^  But 
the  general  opinion  of  Hellas  still  maintained  that 
"  technical  instruction  and  all  teaching  which  aimed  only 
at  money-making  was  vulgar  and  did  not  deserve  the 
name  of  education.  True  education  aimed  solely  at 
virtue,  making  the  child  yearn  to  be  a  good  citizen, 
skilled  to  rule  and  to  obey."  ^  For  all  the  gold  on  the 
earth  and  under  it,  according  to  Plato,  could  not  pay 
the  price  of  virtue,  or  deserve  to  be  given  in  exchange 
for  a  man's  soul.  Thus  the  Spartans  and  Cretans  did 
not  stand  alone,  but  had  the  support  of  all  Hellas,  in 
banishing  from  their  schools  any  idea  of  technical  or 
professional  instruction. 

But  in  one  notable  point  their  idea  of  education 
differed  from  that  which  was  prevalent  in  most  of  the 
Hellenic  States.  The  regular  course  of  education  in 
Athens  and  in  most  Hellenic  States  was  for  boys  alone  : 
no  girls  need  apply.  The  women  lived  in  almost 
Oriental  seclusion  ;  ^  the  duty  of  an  Athenian  mother 
was,  according  to  Perikles,*  to  live  so  retired  a  life 
that  her  name  should  never  be  mentioned  among 
the  men  either  for  praise  or  blame.  Listen  to  the 
description  which  an  Athenian  country  gentleman 
gives  of  his  wife.^  ''  What  was  she  Hkely  to  know 
when  I  married  her?  Why,  she  was  not  yet  fifteen 
when  I  introduced  her  to  my  house,  and  she  had 
been  brought  up  always  under  the  strictest  super- 
vision ;  as  far  as  could  be  managed,  she  had  not  been 
allowed  to  see  anything,  hear  anything,  or  ask  any 
questions.     Don't  you  think  that  it  was  all  that  could 

1  Plutarch,  Solotiy  22.  *  Plato,  Laivs,  643  e. 

'  Except  possibly  in  Chios  and  Lokris,  and  of  course  in  Sparta. 
*  Thuc.  ii.  45.  4.  ^  Xen.  Econ.  vii.  5. 


CHAP.  II     GENERAL  INTRODUCTION  47 

be  expected  of  her,  if  she  knew  how  to  take  raw  wool 
and  make  it  into  a  cloak,  and  had  seen  how  wool-work 
is  served  out  to  handmaidens  ? "  Sokrates,  however,  to 
whom  this  question  is  addressed,  seems  to  think  that 
she  might  have  learnt  **  from  her  father  and  mother  the 
duties  which  would  belong  to  her  in  after  life/'  These, 
however,  in  this  case  her  husband  had  to  teach  her. 
He  explains  to  her  that  she  must  see  that  everything 
has  a  place  to  itself  and  is  always  put  there  ;  she  must 
also  give  out  the  stores,  teach  the  slaves  their  duties  and 
nurse  them  when  they  are  ill,  and  tend  the  young 
children.  The  summary  of  the  explanation  is  that 
Heaven  has  appointed  a  fair  division  of  labour  between 
husband  and  wife  :  the  wife  manages  everything  indoors 
and  the  husband  everything  out  of  doors.  A  stay-at- 
home  husband  or  a  gad -about  wife  equally  offend 
against  respectability.  As  a  rule,  apparently,  the 
women  simply  sat  in  the  house,  "like  slaves,'*  as  it 
seemed  to  the  ordinary  athletic  Hellene.  Xenophon's 
model  husband  suggests  that  his  wife  should  take  exer- 
cise by  walking  about  the  house  to  see  how  the  supplies 
were  given  out,  to  inspect  the  arrangements  of  the 
cupboards,  and  to  watch  the  washing  and  the  wringing- 
out  of  the  clothes  :  this  exercise  will  give^her  health  and 
an  appetite.  But  Xenophon  was  an  admirer  of  Spartan 
customs  and  the  athletic  Spartan  women  :  probably 
these  ideas  would  not  have  occurred  to  the  ordinary 
Athenian  husband. 

Another  picture  may  be  quoted  from  Hellenic 
literature  to  show  the  extent  of  education  which  an 
ordinary  woman  received.^  A  certain  Aristarchos 
comes  to  Sokrates  in  great  distress.  A  number  of 
female  relatives,  quite  destitute,  have  been  thrown  upon 

^  Xen.  Mem.  ii.  7. 


48  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

his  hands  owing  to  various  circumstances,  and  he  must 
support  them  ;  but  he  has  not  the  requisite  means. 
Sokrates  naturally  suggests  that  he  should  make  them 
work  for  their  living.  But  they  do  not  know  how  to, 
says  Aristarchos.  However,  by  dint  of  questioning, 
Sokrates  elicits  the  fact  that  they  can  make  men's  and 
women's  garments,  and  also  pastry  and  bread.  These, 
then,  were  apparently  the  accomplishments  which  an 
ordinary  girl  in  Hellas,  brought  up  without  any  idea  of 
having  to  earn  her  own  living,  would  acquire.  Plato 
also  mentions  weaving  and  cooking  as  the  provinces  in 
which  women  excel,^  and  describes  the  women  of  Attika 
as  "  living  indoors,  managing  the  household  and  super- 
intending the  loom  and  wool-work  generally."  ^ 

Thus  the  Athenian  girl  spent  her  time  indoors, 
learning  to  be  a  regular  "  Hausfrau,"  skilled  in  weaving, 
cooking,  and  household  management.  She  had  her 
special  maid  to  wait  on  her,^  as  her  brothers  had  their 
paidagogos.  She  would,  as  a  rule,  be  married  young, 
and  would  naturally  be  very  shy  after  such  an  up- 
bringing ;  the  marriage  was  arranged  between  the 
bridegroom  and  the  parents,  and,  owing  to  the  seclusion 
of  the  women  at  Athens,  love-matches  were  well-nigh 
impossible.  The  match  was  mainly  a  question  of  the 
dowry.  Xenophon  ^  gives  a  vivid  picture  of  one  of 
these  girl-wives  gradually  "  growing  accustomed  to  her 
husband  and  becoming  sufficiently  tame  to  hold  con- 
versation with  him."  To  keep  their  beauty  under  such 
conditions  they  employed  rouge  and  white,  and  high- 
heeled  shoes.  Such  mothers  would  be  quite  incapable 
of  giving  any  literary  or  musical  education  to  their 
children  ;  hence  the  boys  went  away  to  school  as  soon 

1  Plato,  jRf/>.  455  c.  2  Plato,  Laivs,  805  e. 

^  As  in  Lusias,  ag.  Diogeiton,  32.  28.  4  jjj  tj^g  Econ,  vii,  lo. 


CHAP.  II     GENERAL  INTRODUCTION  49 

as  possible.  Their  school-life  usually  began  when  they 
were  about  six  years  old,  the  exact  age  being  left  to  the 
parents'  choice.-^  Before  this,  they  learnt  in  the  nursery 
the  various  current  fables  and  ballads,  and  the  national 
mythology.^  "  As  soon  as  the  child  understands  what 
is  said,  the  nurse  and  the  mother  and  the  paidogogos, 
yes,  and  the  father  himself,  strive  with  one  another  in 
improving  its  character,  in  every  word  and  deed  showing 
it  what  is  just  and  what  is  unjust,  what  is  beautiful  and 
what  is  ugly,  what  is  holy  and  what  is  unholy.  It  is 
always  '  Do  this '  and  *  Don't  do  that.'  If  a  child  is 
disobedient,  it  is  corrected  with  threats  and  blows."  ^ 
Besides  this  purely  moral  training  there  might,  no 
doubt,  be  a  certain  amount  of  technical  or  of  literary 
instruction  at  home,*  and  bits  of  poetry  might  be  learnt. 
Up  to  this  age  boys  and  girls  lived  together. 

The  sons  of  rich  parents  apparently  went  to  school 
earliest  :  their  poorer  fellow-citizens  went  later.^  This 
was  natural.  The  poor  could  not  keep  their  sons  at 
school  for  a  long  time,  for  they  wanted  their  services  in 
the  shop  or  on  the  farm,  and  the  fees  were  a  burden  : 
so  they  did  not  send  them  till  they  were  old  enough  to 
pick  up  instruction  quickly.  The  rich,  on  the  other 
hand,  to  whom  money  was  no  object,  sent  their  boys  to 
school  at  an  early  age,  when  they  could  do  little  more 
than  look  on,  while  their  elders  worked.  Aristotle 
commends  this  custom,  and  imposes  two  years  of  such 
"  playing  at  school "  upon  the  boys  of  his  ideal  State. ^ 

^  Thus  the  Axiochos  (366  d)  puts  seven  years  as  the  age  at  which  grammatistai 
and  paidotribai  began.  Plato  {Laivs,  794)  says  six  ;  Aristotle  {Pol.  vii.  xy)  about 
five  J  Xenophon  [Constit.  of  Lak.  ii.)  "as  soon  as  the  children  begin  to  understand." 

'^  Aesop  was  popular  then,  as  now.  This  is  the  /xovaLKi^,  anterior  to  yvfivacTTiKi^, 
so  keenly  criticised  in  the  Republic. 

^  Plato,  Protag.  325  c-e.  *  Xen.  Mem.  ii.  2.  6. 

^  Plato,  Protag.  326  c.  «  Aristotle,  Pol.  vii.  17.  7. 

E 


50  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

The  ordinary  system  of  primary  education  at  Athens 
consisted  of  three  parts,  presided  over  respectively  by 
the  "  grammatistes,"  *'  kitharistes,"  and  "  paidotribes."  ^ 
The  grammatistes  taught  reading,  writing,  and  some 
arithmetic,  and  made  his  pupils  read  and  learn  by  heart 
the  great  poets,  Homer  and  Hesiod  and  others.  The 
kitharistes  taught  the  boys  how  to  play  the  seven- 
stringed  lyre  and  sing  to  it  the  works  of  the  lyric 
poets,  which  they  would  incidentally  have  to  learn. 
The  paidotribes  presided  over  their  physical  develop- 
ment in  a  scientific  way  ;  he  taught  them  wrestling, 
boxing,  the  pankration,  running,  jumping,  throwing  the 
diskos  and  javelin,  and  various  other  exercises  ;  his 
school-room  was  the  palaistra.  To  this  triple  system 
some  boys  added  drawing  and  painting  ;  ^  but  this 
subject  seems  to  have  been  an  extra  till  late  in  the 
fourth  century.  Literature,  music,  and  athletics  com- 
posed the  ordinary  course  at  Athens. 

Which  of  the  three  branches  of  education  began 
first  ?  Probably  they  were  all  taught  simultaneously. 
The  order  in  which  they  are  usually  mentioned  does 
not  point  to  a  fixed  sequence.  Letters  were  naturally 
mentioned  first,  because  all  citizens  alike  learned  this 
subject.  Gymnastics  were  put  last,  because,  owing  to 
the  public  gymnasia,  these  exercises  were  carried  on 
long  after  the  other  schooling  had  ceased.  Moreover, 
most  of  the  recognised  exercises  of  the  palaistra  were 
not  taught  to  small  boys  ;  from  the  nature  of  the 
exercises  and  from  the  pictures  on  the  vases  it  may  be 

^  The  three  in  this  order  in  Plato,  Protag.  312  b,  325-326  j  Charmid.  159  c  ; 
Kleitoph.  407  c  j  Xen.  Comtit.of  Lak.  ii.  i  j  Isok.  Antid.  267.  The  first  two  in  this 
order  in  Charmid.  160  a;  La«j,  209  b;  inverted  in  Euthud.  276  a.  Aristot. 
{JBol.  viii.  3)  gives  ypdixixara,  yvfivaaTiKifj,  ixovaiK-q.  Plato  in  the  Laivs  810  a  makes 
KidapicrTiKT^  follow  ypa/xfiariKT^  ;  Aristophanes  mentions  the  paidotribes  just  afte 
the  KidapiffTT^i.  ^  Aristot.  Pol.  viii.  3.  i. 


CHAP.  II     GENERAL  INTRODUCTION  51 

deduced  that  the  average  boy  did  not  learn  them  till 
his  twelfth  year  at  the  earliest.  But  physical  training 
of  an  easier  sort  of  course  commenced  much  earlier, 
and  boys  seem  to  have  attended  a  palaistra  from  their 
sixth  year  onwards  to  receive  it.  Both  Plato  and 
Aristotle  demand  that  it  should  begin  several  years 
before  any  intellectual  instruction  ;  and  Plato,  making 
athletics  such  as  shooting  and  riding  begin  at  six,  defers 
letters  till  ten  and  lyre-playing  till  thirteen.  Gym- 
nastics would  naturally  occupy  a  part  of  the  day  for  a 
healthy  young  Hellene  during  the  whole  time  from 
his  sixth  year  till  manhood.  It  is  thus  that  the 
Charmides  mentions  "  quite  tiny  boys "  as  present  in 
the  palaistra,  as  well  as  older  lads  and  young  men. 

Lyre-playing  may  have  been  deferred,  as  a  harder 
subject,  till  the  boy  had  learned  letters  for  several 
years  ;  but  the  seven -stringed  lyre,  with  the  simple 
old  Hellenic  music,  was  probably  not  a  very  difficult 
instrument  to  master.  The  chief  factor  which  de- 
termined the  arrangement  of  subjects  in  an  ordinary 
family  was  no  doubt  the  paidagogos.  If  there  was 
only  one  son,  he  could  go  to  whatever  school  his 
parents  pleased  ;  but  if  there  were  several,  elders  and 
youngers  had  all  to  go  to  the  same  school  at  the  same 
time,  for  there  was  only  one  paidagogos  to  a  whole 
family  as  a  rule,  and  he  could  never  allow  any  of  his 
charges  to  go  out  of  his  sight. 

That  the  three  subjects  were  usually  taught  simul- 
taneously may  be  inferred  from  a  passage  of  Xenophon. 
"  In  every  part  of  Hellas  except  Sparta,"  he  says,  "  those 
who  claim  to  give  their  sons  the  best  education,  as  soon 
as  ever  the  child  understands  what  is  said  to  him,  at 
once  make  one  of  their  servants  his  paidagogos,  and  at 
once  send  him  ofF  to  school  to  learn  letters  and  music 


52 


SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 


and  the  exercises  of  the  Palaistra."  ^  The  emphasis 
upon  the  word  "  at  once ''  certainly  implies  that  the 
three  subjects  began  simultaneously. 

On  the  vases  letters  and  music  are  seen  being  taught 
side  by  side  in  the  same  school ;  this  was  a  convenient 
and  natural  arrangement.  Writing-tablets  and  rulers 
are  also  seen  suspended  on  the  walls  of  music-schools 
and  palaistrai,  and  lyres  on  the  walls  of  letter-schools  ;  ^ 
which  suggests  that  the  boys  went  from  one  building  to 
another  in  the  day,  taking  their  property  with  them. 
Plato  states  that  three  years  apiece  was  a  reasonable  time 
for  learning  letters  and  the  lyre.^  The  eight  years 
between  six  and  fourteen,  the  ordinary  time  devoted  at 
Athens  in  the  fourth  century  to  the  primary  triple 
course,  would  give,  space  for  these  six  years,  with  two 
years  to  spare  for  elaboration.  Gymnastics  are  meant 
to  go  on  during  the  whole  period  in  Plato,  and  so  do 
not  require  a  special  allowance  of  time  to  themselves. 

This  system  of  primary  education  at  Athens  may 
reasonably  be  traced  back  to  the  beginning  of  the  sixth 
century.  Solon  is  credited  with  a  regulation  which 
made  letters  compulsory,  and  with  certain  moral  enact- 
ments dealing  with  existing  schools  and  palaistrai. 
The  much-disputed  popularisation  of  Homer  at  Athens 
by  Peisistratos  was  probably  connected  with  the  growth 
of  the  Schools  of  Letters.  Of  the  existence  of  music- 
schools  at  this  date  there  is  evidence  from  a  sixth- 
century  vase  in  the  British  Museum,*  which  represents 
a  youth  amusing  himself  with  a  dog,  behind  a  seated 
man  who  is  playing  a  lyre.  This  might  not  seem  very 
conclusive  in  itself ;  but  now  compare  it  with  the  two 
"  amphorai "  of  the  fifth  century,^  which  undoubtedly 

^  Xen.  Constit.  of  Lak.  ii.  2  See  Illustr.  Plates  I.  a  and  I.  b. 

»  Plato,  Law,  810  a.     *  Vase  B  192.  ^  Vases  E  171,  172  j  see  Plates  III.  and  IV. 


CHAP.  II     GENERAL  INTRODUCTION  ^2 

represent  scenes  in  a  music-school.  The  situation  is 
almost  identical  ;  each  alike  shows  the  boy  playing  with 
the  animal  behind  his  master's  chair.  Curiously  enough, 
all  three  vases  come  from  Kameiros  in  Rhodes,  although 
they  are  of  Athenian  manufacture.  Thus  the  music- 
school  may  also  be  traced  back  well  into  the  sixth 
century,  in  company  with  the  school  of  letters  and  the 
palaistra  ;  and  the  antiquity  of  the  system  of  Primary 
Education  is  thus  established. 

In  earlier  days  this  primary  course  had  no  doubt 
sometimes  lasted  till  the  boy  was  eighteen  :  but  towards 
the  end  of  the  fifth  century  a  secondary  stage  of  educa- 
tion arose,  occupying  the  years  immediately  preceding 
eighteen.  This  secondary  stage  is  recognized  in  the 
pseudo  -  Platonic  Axiochos  and  in  the  fragment  of 
Teles  quoted  by  Stobaeus.  More  important  evidence 
is  supplied  by  Plato.  In  the  Republic  he  assigns 
an  elaborate  system  of  mathematics  to  the  age  just 
before  icprj/Seta,  which  he  sets  at  seventeen  or  eighteen, 
the  natural  age  varying  with  the  individual,  while  the 
legal  age  remained  fixed. 

When  did  this  Secondary  Education  begin  ?  Aristotle, 
counting  back  from  icfyrj^eia,  assigns  three  years  to  it.^ 
He  has  just  commended  the  arrangement  of  education, 
not  on  hard  and  fast  lines,  but  in  accordance  with  the 
natural  growth  of  the  individual  :  so  he  must  mean  his 
i<j>7)^6La  to  vary  from  seventeen  to  eighteen.^  Thus  he 
puts  the  beginning  of  secondary  education  at  fourteen 
or  fifteen,  the  average  age  of  rj^r)  in  Hellas,  as  in  Rome. 
From  rj^rj  till  twenty-one  the  young  Athenian  was  a 
fjuetpaKtov.  Thus  in  point  of  age  the  7rat9  of  the 
primary  schools  corresponds  to  the  Roman  "  impubes," 
and  the  fiecpaKcov  to  the  "  adolescens "  ;    but  /jLeipaKcov 

1  Aristot.  Pol.  viii.  4.  9.  2  /^^-^^  yjij^  i_  2. 


54  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

and  7ra?9  are  used  very  loosely,  and  the  former  word  is 
often  replaced  by  veavlaKo^,  We  shall,  as  a  rule,  call 
the  pupils  of  the  primary  schools  boys,  and  those  of  the 
secondary  lads. 

Fourteen  did  not,  however,  represent  an  exact  point 
at  which  it  was  compulsory  to  leave  the  primary  school. 
Sons  of  the  poor  left  earlier ;  rich  or  unoccupied 
Athenians  might  remain  later  :  Sokrates  even  attended 
a  lyre-school  among  the  boys  when  he  was  middle- 
aged.  The  primary  schoolmasters  started  advanced 
classes  in  astronomy  and  mathematics  to  suit  elder 
pupils.^  In  the  palaistrai  there  were  separate  classes 
of  boys  and  lads,  who  were  only  supposed  to  meet  on 
feast-days  ;  ^  in  the  Charmides^  however,  grown  men, 
lads,  boys,  and  quite  tiny  boys  are  all  exercising 
together. 

Many  lads,  especially  in  earlier  times,  did  not  attend 
the  schools  at  all,  but  gave  their  time  to  gymnastics  and 
whatever  else  they  pleased.^  Xenophon  relates  this  as 
one  of  the  demerits  of  the  Athenian  system.^ 

The  mental  attainments  of  a  lad  who  is  apparently 
but  little  over  fourteen  are  sketched  in  Plato's  Lusis. 
The  lad  Lusis  knows  how  to  read  and  write,  and  how 
to  string  and  play  the  lyre.  He  recognises  a  quotation 
from  Homer,  and  has  even  come  across  the  "  prose 
treatises  of  the  very  wise,  who  say  that  like  must 
always  be  friendly  to  like  ;  these  are  the  men  who 
reason  and  write  about  the  Universe  and  Nature."  ^ 

This  secondary  education,  beginning  soon  after 
fourteen,  was  only  for  the  rich  :  the  poor  could  not 
afford  to  keep  their  sons  away  from  the  farm  or  trade 

h 

1  [Plato]  Rivals,  132  a.  2  p^^^^^  2,«m,  206  d.  '! 

'  Plato,  Laches,  179  a.  4  Xen.  Constit.  of  Lak.  iii.  U 

^  Plato,  Lusis,  214  B.  j 


CHAP.  II     GENERAL  INTRODUCTION  55 

any  longer.  It  might  be  scattered  over  the  whole  of 
the  next  six  or  seven  years  ;  but  there  was  a  serious 
interruption,  which  usually  terminated  it.  At  eighteen 
the  young  Athenian  became  in  the  eye  of  the  law  an 
ephebos  and  was  called  out  to  undergo  two  years  of 
military  training.  During  this  period  of  conscription 
it  was  no  doubt  possible,  especially  in  the  laxer  days  of 
the  fourth  century,  to  do  some  intellectual  work  ;  but 
Plato  is  probably  only  accepting  the  usual  custom  when 
he  frees  the  epheboi  of  his  State  from  all  mental  studies 
and  makes  them  give  their  whole  energies  to  military 
and  gymnastic  training.  And  when  the  ephebos  re- 
turned to  civil  life,  he  was  a  full  citizen  and  was  hardly 
likely  to  return  to  school ;  he  might  attend  an  occasional 
lecture  or  so,  but  that  was  all. 

Thus  secondary  education  usually  occupied  the  years 
between  fourteen  and  eighteen,  although  the  latter  limit 
was  in  no  way  definitely  fixed,  and  the  same  subjects 
might  be  studied  at  any  age.  In  earlier  days  no  doubt 
lads  spent  their  time  in  continuing  their  musical 
studies  :  primary  education  could  be  conducted  in  a 
more  leisurely  fashion  when  there  was  still  little  to 
be  learnt,  and  the  lyre  may  have  been  deferred  till 
this  age,  as  Plato  in  similar  circumstances  defers 
it  in  the  Laws.  But  in  the  days  of  Perikles  know- 
ledge began  to  increase  and  boys  had  more  to  learn. 
So  the  lyre  was  crowded  into  the  first  period  of  educa- 
tion, and  a  new  series  of  secondary  subjects  arose.  It 
was  these  years  which  were  usually  devoted  to  the  four 
years'  course  which  was  customary  in  the  school  of 
Isokrates.  Before  this  date  the  time  was,  as  a  rule, 
spent  in  attending  the  lectures  of  the  wandering 
Sophists  or  in  picking  up  a  smattering  of  philosophy. 
Among    the    subjects   which    thus   formed    a   part    of 


56  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

secondary  education  were  mathematics  of  various 
kinds,  more  advanced  literary  criticism,  a  certain 
amount  of  natural  history  and  science,  a  knowledge  of 
the  laws  and  constitution  of  Athens,  a  small  quantity 
of  philosophy,  ethical,  political,  and  metaphysical,  and 
above  all,  rhetoric.  Plato  in  his  Republic^  developing 
this  Athenian  system  of  secondary  education,  assigns 
to  the  years  immediately  preceding  eighteen  the  theory 
of  numbers,  geometry,  plane  and  solid,  kinetics  and 
harmonics,  and  expressly  excludes  dialectic  as  more 
suitable  to  a  later  age ;  ^  in  the  Laws^  prescribing 
for  the  whole  population,  not  for  a  few  selected  in- 
tellects, he  orders  practical  arithmetic,  geometry,  and 
enough  astronomy  to  make  the  calendar  intelligible. 
The  pseudo -Platonic  Axiochos  ^  ascribes  to  Prodikos 
the  statement  that  "when  a  child  grows  older,  he 
endures  the  tyranny  of  mathematicians,  teachers  of 
tactics,  and  'critics.*"  These  last  are  the  professors 
of  that  curious  criticism  of  poetry  which  is  found,  for 
instance,  in  the  Protagoras  as  a  subject  of  the  lectures 
of  that  Sophist  as  well  as  of  Hippias. 

At  eighteen  the  young  Athenian  partially  came  of 
age.  He  then  had  to  submit  to  a  two  years'  course  of 
military  training,  of  which  the  first  year  was  spent  in 
Athens  and  the  second  in  the  frontier  forts  and  in 
camp.  During  this  period  he  probably  had  little  time 
for  intellectual  occupations.  But  when  the  military 
power  of  Athens  collapsed  under  the  Macedonian 
dominion,  the  military  duties  of  the  epheboi  became 
voluntary,  and  their  training  was  replaced  by  regular 
courses  of  philosophy  aud  literature.  The  military 
system  became  a  University,  attended  by  a  few  young 

Rhetoric  is,  of  course,  banished  from  a  Platonic  state. 
^  [Plato]  Axtochos,  366  e. 


CHAP.  II     GENERAL  INTRODUCTION  57 

men  of  wealth  and  position  and  a  good  many  foreigners. 
As  the  forerunner  of  the  first  University,  the  two 
years'  training  of  the  epheboi  may  fitly  receive  the 
name  of  Tertiary  Education,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  till 
the  third  century  it  involved  only  military  instruction. 

Thus  we  have  Athenian  education  divided  into 
three  stages  :  Primary  from  six  to  fourteen,  Secondary 
from  fourteen  to  eighteen,  and  Tertiary  from  eighteen 
to  twenty  ;  while  gymnastic  training  extended  over  the 
whole  period. 

Of  these  three  stages  the  third  alone  was  compulsory 
and  provided  by  the  State.  The  second  was  entirely 
voluntary,  and  only  the  richest  and  most  leisured  boys 
applied  themselves  to  it.  Gymnastics  of  some  sort 
were  rendered  almost  obligatory  by  the  liability  of  every 
citizen  to  military  and  naval  service  at  a  moment's 
notice  ;  but  they  needed  little  encouragment.  Of  the 
primary  subjects,  letters  were  probably  compulsory  by 
law,  and  music  was  almost  invariably  taught.  An  old 
law,  ascribed  to  Solon,^  enacted  that  every  boy  should 
learn  swimming  and  his  letters  ;  after  which,  the  poorer 
might  turn  their  attention  to  trade  or  farming,  while 
the  richer  passed  on  to  learn  music,  riding,  gymnastics, 
hunting,  and  philosophy.  In  the  Kriton  of  Plato  the 
personified  Laws  of  Athens,  recounting  to  Sokrates  the 
many  services  which  they  had  done  him,  mention  that 
they  had  "  charged  his  father  to  educate  him  in  Music 
and  Letters."^  But  the  Laws  in  Hellas  include  the 
customs,  as  well  as  the  constitution,  of  a  State.  It  was 
certainly  customary  for  nearly  every  citizen  at  Athens  to 

^  See  Petit,  Leges  Atticae,  ii.  4,  compiled  with  great  ingenuity  out  of  many  authors. 
Hence  the  proverbs  6  fiy}Te  velv  ix-f^re  ypdfifxara  iirKTTdfMevos,  of  an  utter  dunce,  and 
irpCjTov  KoXv/j.^av  de^repov  8^  ypd/xfjLara.  The  spelling-riddles  of  the  tragedians 
imply  a  whole  nation  interested  in  spelling.  2  piato,  Kriton,  50  d. 


58  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

learn  some  music  ;  but  it  was  not  compulsory.  We 
meet  no  Athenian  in  literature  who  is  ignorant  of  his 
letters ;  we  meet  several  who  know  no  music.  In 
Aristophanes,  Demosthenes  and  Nikias  are  on  the  look- 
out for  the  most  vulgar  and  low-class  man  in  Athens, 
in  order  that  he  may  oust  Kleon  from  popular  favour, 
by  outdoing  him  in  vulgarity.  They  find  a  sausage- 
seller.  But  even  this  man  knows  his  letters,  though 
not  very  well.-^  Of  music,  however,  he  is  ignorant, 
and  he  has  never  attended  the  lessons  of  a  paidotribes,^ 
though  Kleon  seems  to  expect  him  to  have  done  so. 
Kleon,  who  is  represented  as  an  utter  boor,  is  yet  said 
to  have  attended  a  lyre -school.^  In  the  Theages^ 
literature  and  lyre-playing  and  athletics  are  mentioned 
as  the  ordinary  education  of  a  gentleman.  In  fiercely 
democratic  Athens  every  parent  was  eager  to  bring  up 
his  sons  as  gentlemen,  and  no  doubt  sent  them  through 
the  whole  course  if  he  could  possibly  afford  it.  But  the 
State  attitude  towards  education,  as  distinct  from  the 
voluntary  customs  of  the  citizens,  may  be  summarised 
in  the  words  of  Sokrates  to  Alkibiades  :  "  No  one,  so 
to  speak,  cares  a  straw  how  you  or  any  other  Athenian 
is  brought  up."  ^ 

The  schoolmasters  opened  their  schools  as  private 
enterprises,  fixing  for  themselves  the  fees  and  the  sub- 
jects taught.  The  parents  chose  what  they  thought 
a  suitable  school,  according  to  their  means  and  the 
subjects  which  they  wished  their  sons  to  learn.  Thus 
Sokrates  says  to  his  eldest  son,  Lamprokles/  "  When 

1  Aristophanes,  Knights,  189.  2  jy^^  1235-1239. 

8  Ibid.  987-996.  4  |-piato]  Theages,  122  £. 

''  Plato,  Alkibiades,  i.  122  B.  The  Athenian  State,  however,  from  the  time  of 
Solon  onwards,  supported  and  educated  at  public  expense  the  sons  of  those  who  fell 
in  battle.  The  endowed  systems  in  Teos  and  at  Delphoi  belong  to  the  third 
century  ;  it  is  impossible  to  say  whether  such  existed  earlier. 

"  Xcn.  Mem.  ii.  2.  6. 


CHAP.  II     GENERAL  INTRODUCTION  59 

boys  seem  old  enough  to  learn  anything,  their  parents 
teach  them  whatever  they  themselves  know  that  is 
likely  to  be  useful  to  them  ;  subjects  which  they  think 
others  better  qualified  to  teach  they  send  them  to 
school  to  learn,  spending  money  upon  this  object." 
This  suggests  that  the  poor  may  frequently  have  passed 
on  their  own  knowledge  of  letters  to  their  sons  without 
the  expense  of  a  school.  But  all  this  was  a  private 
transaction  between  parent  and  teacher.  The  State 
interfered  with  the  matter  only  so  far  as  to  impose 
certain  moral  regulations  on  the  schools  and  the 
gymnasia,  to  fix  the  hours  of  opening  and  closing,  and 
so  forth,  and  to  suggest  that  every  boy  should  be 
taught  his  letters. 

The  teaching  of  the  elementary  stages  of  Letters, 
that  is,  the  three  R's,  was,  as  will  be  shown  later  on, 
cheaply  obtained,  and  was  within  the  reach  of  the 
)oorest.  Music  and  athletics  would  naturally  be  more 
expensive,  for  they  required  much  greater  study  and 
talents  upon  the  part  of  their  teachers.  The  State 
[did  take  some  steps  to  make  these  branches  of  education 
cheaper,  and  so  throw  them  open  to  a  larger  number. 

Gymnasia  and  palaistrai  were  built  at  public  expense,^ 
that  any  one  might  go  and  exercise  himself  without 
charge.  These  buildings  were  also  open  to  spectators, 
so  that  any  one  could  acquire  at  any  rate  a  rudimentary 
knowledge  of  boxing,  wrestling,  and  the  other  branches 
of  athletics,  by  watching  his  more  proficient  fellow- 
citizens  practising  them.  The  epheboi  received  instruc- 
tion in  athletic  exercises  at  the  cost  of  the  State.  But 
the  children,  so  far  as  they  received  physical  training 
in  schools,  must  have  received  it  in  private  palaistrai  ; 
their  lessons  are  described   as    taking   place    "in    the 

^  [Xen.]  Constit.  of  Athens^  ii.  lo. 


6o  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

house  of  the  paidotribes,"  ev  iracBoTpl^ov — an  idiom 
which  always  implies  ownership  or  special  rights  ;  and 
the  majority  of  palaistrai  were  private  buildings,  called 
by  their  owners'  names.  Thus  we  hear  of  the  palaistrai 
of  Siburtios,  of  Taureas,^  and  so  forth  :  Siburtios  and 
Taureas  were  no  doubt  the  paidotribai  who  taught 
there.  In  a  later  age,  when  the  boys  of  different 
palaistrai  ran  torch  races  against  one  another,  the 
palaistra  of  Timeas  is  victorious  on  two  occasions,  that 
of  Antigenes  once.^ 

By  the  system  of  leitourgiai  rich  citizens  were  made 
chargeable  for  the  expenses  of  the  epheboi  of  their  tribe 
who  were  training  for  the  torch  races.  These  races 
seem  to  have  been  the  only  branch  of  athletics  which 
was  thus  endowed  ;  however,  they  were  numerous,  even 
in  the  smaller  country  districts,  so  that  many  epheboi 
must  have  profited  by  this  free  training.^  "  Leitourgiai  " 
also  provided  free  instruction  in  chorus-dancing  (which 
included  singing  as  well  as  dancing)  for  such  boys  as 
were  selected  for  competition.  The  rich  "  choregos  " 
appointed  for  the  year  had  to  produce  a  chorus  of  boys 
belonging  to  his  tribe  for  some  festival,  paying  all  the 
expenses  of  teaching  and  training  them  himself.^  It 
is  to  this  free  school  that  the  Solonic  law  refers  when 
it  mentions  the  "joint  attendance  of  the  boys  and  the 
dithyrambic  choruses "  ;  for  it  goes  on  to  state  that 
the  ordinance  with  regard  to  this  matter  was  that  the 
"  choregos  "  should  be  over  forty.^  In  Demosthenes,^ 
a  certain  Mantitheos,  who  had  not  been  acknowledged 
by  his  father  at  the  usual  time,  "  attended  school  among 

1  Plutarch,  Alkib.  3  ;  Plato,  Charmides,  153  a. 
C.I.yi.  ii.  I.  444,  445^  446.  3  See  Excursus  on  yvfiVLaacapxot. 

He  could,  and  had  to,  use  compulsion  in  collecting  boys.     This  suggests  that  a 
parent  could  always,  if  he  wished,  get  this  free  education  for  his  son. 
°  This  rule  fell  into  abeyance.  «  Dem.  agcjinst  Boiot.  100 1. 


CHAP.  II     GENERAL  INTRODUCTION  6i 

the  boys  of  the  Hippothontid  tribe  to  learn  chorus- 
dancing  "  :  had  he  been  acknowledged,  he  would  have 
gone  to  the  Acamantid,  his  father's  tribe.  No  doubt, 
if  the  choregos  was  keen  about  gaining  a  victory,  he 
would  give  a  trial  to  more  than  the  fifty  boys  required 
for  a  dithyrambic  contest.  In  any  case,  provided  that 
all  the  tribes  competed,  this  one  contest  (and  there 
were  several  in  the  course  of  a  year)  gave  a  free 
education  to  500  boys.  Xenophon  notices  that  it 
was  the  "demos,"  the  poor  majority,  who  mainly  got 
the  advantage  of  free  training  under  gumnasiarchoi 
and  choregoi  :  ^  the  rich  naturally  preferred  to  send 
their  boys  to  more  select  schools.^ 

Thus  the  more  elementary  stages  of  letters  alone 
were  compulsory  at  Athens,  but  music  and  gymnastics 
were  almost  universally  taught,  and  the  cost  of  instruc- 
tion in  these  subjects  was  reduced  in  various  ways  by 
State  action  :  the  greater  part  might  be  learned  for 
nothing.  But  parents  needed  little  compulsion  or 
encouragement  to  get  their  children  taught.  So  much 
did  the  Hellenes  regard  education  as  a  necessity  for 
their  boys,  that  when  the<  Athenians  were  driven  from 
their  homes  by  Xerxes,  and  their  women  and  children 
crossed  over  to  Troizen,  the  hospitable  Troizenians 
provided  their  guests  with  schoolmasters,  so  that  not 
even  in  such  a  crisis  might  the  boys  be  forced  to  take 
a  holiday.^     And  when  Mitulene  wished  to  punish  her 

^  [Xen.]  Constit.  of  Athens^  i.  13. 

^  On  the  strength  of  the  passages  quoted  from  the  law,  and  from  Demosthenes, 
and  of  Aristophanes,  Clouds,  964,  some  have  maintained  a  theory  that  the  Athenian 
tribes  provided  free  education  in  dancing,  and  perhaps  in  other  subjects,  to  all  free 
boys,  exclusive  of  competitions.  But  the  quotation  in  Aischines,  except  for  the 
actual  law,  which  is  a  later  interpolation,  certainly  refers  only  to  the  choregoi,  and 
the  passage  in  Demosthenes  is  concerned  only  with  chorus-dancing  for  competitions. 
In  Aristophanes  the  boys  of  the  same  neighbourhood  naturally  attend  the  same 
school,  that  is  all.  3  piut.  Themht.  10. 


52  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

revolted  allies  in  the  most  severe  way  possible,  she 
prevented  them  from  teaching  their  children  letters 
and  music.^ 

Of  State  action  with  regard  to  education  in  Hellas 
elsewhere  than  in  Sparta,  Crete,  and  Athens,  little  is 
known.  But  the  Chalcidian  cities  in  Sicily  and  Italy 
are  said  to  have  provided  literary  education  at  public 
expense  and  under  public  supervision.^  The  law  enact- 
ing this  is  ascribed  to  the  great  lawgiver,  Charondas, 
and,  although  he  is  a  somewhat  shadowy  figure,^  there 
must  have  been  some  foundation  for  the  story,  at 
any  rate  at  a  later  date.  During  the  Macedonian 
period  kings  and  other  rich  men  often  bequeathed  large 
sums  of  money  to  their  favourite  cities,  in  order  to 
endow  the  educational  system.  We  hear  of  this 
happening  in  Teos  and  at  Delphi  :  in  these  places 
the  parents,  if  they  paid  any  fees  at  all,  cannot  have 
paid  much.  But  there  is  no  authority  for  any  such 
endowments  during  the  period  which  we  are  con- 
sidering. 

But  if  education  was  neither  enforced  nor  assisted 
to  any  considerable  degree  by  the  State,  it  was  certainly 
encouraged  by  the  prizes  which  were  offered.  Every 
city,  and  probably  most  villages,  had  local  compe- 
titions annually,  and  in  many  cases  more  frequently 
still,  in  which  some  of  the  "  events  "  were  reserved  for 
citizens,  while  others  were  open  to  all  comers.  There 
were  separate  prizes  for  different  ages  ;  the  ordinary 
division  was  into  boys  and  grown  men,  an  intermediate 
class  of  "  the  beardless  "  being  sometimes  added.  But 
in  some  Attic  inscriptions  the  boys  are  divided  into 

*  Ael.  Var.  Hist.  vii.  15.  2  d\qA^  sic.  xii.  42. 

'  Probably  lived  circa  500  b.c. 


CHAP.  II     GENERAL  INTRODUCTION  63 

three   groups,    and    in    Chios    the    epheboi    were   so 
distributed. 

These  competitions  were  no  doubt  largely  athletic. 
But  music  was  usually  provided  for  as  well,  and  in 
many  places  there  were  literary  competitions  also.  At 
Athens  the  different  (^paTplai  seem  to  have  offered 
prizes  annually  on  the  Koureotis  day  of  the  Apatouria 
to  the  boys  who  recited  best,  the  piece  for  recitation 
being  chosen  by  each  competitor.  Kritias  took  part  in 
the  competition  when  ten  years  old.^  From  Teos  we 
have  a  list  of  prizemen,  belonging,  it  is  true,  to  a  later 
date  ;  but  it  may  be  quoted,  to  give  some  idea  of  what 
the  subjects  might  be.^ 

Senior  Class  {by  age).  Junior  Class. 

For    rhapsody,    Zoi'los,    son     of  For  rhapsody,  Herakles. 

Zoilos.  For  reading. 

For     reading,     Zoilos,     son     of  For  calligraphy. 

Zoilos.  For  torch  race. 

For  playing  lyre  with  fingers. 

Middle  Class.  For  playing  lyre  with  plektron. 

For   rhapsody,   Metrodoros,    son  For  singing  to  lyre. 

of  Attalos.  For  reciting  tragic  verse  (tragedy). 

For     reading,    Dionusikles,    son  For  reciting  comedy. 

of  Metrodoros.  For  reciting  lyric  verse. 
For    general    knowledge,    Athe- 

naios,  son  of  Apollodoros. 
For     painting,     Dionusios,     son 

of  Dionusios. 

From  Chios  we  have  the  following  ^  : — 

When  Hermesileos,  Dinos,  and  Nikias  were  gumnasiarchoi, 
the  following  boys  and  epheboi  were  victorious  in  the  compe- 
titions and  offered  libations  to  the  Muses  and  Herakles  from 
the  sums  which  were  given  to  them  in  accordance  with  the 
decree  of  the  people,  when  Lusias  was  taster  of  the  offerings  : — 

1  Plato,  Tim.  21  b.  2  Bockh,  3088. 

'■^  Ibid.  2214.     I  have  omitted  patronymics. 


64 


SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS 


PART  I 


For  reading,  Agathokles. 
For  rhapsody,  Miltiades. 
For   playing   lyre   with    fingers, 

Xenon. 
For  playing  lyre,  Kleoites. 


Long  Distance  Race  (varied  from 
2J  miles  to  about  |  mile). 


Boys       .     .     . 
Junior  epheboi 
Middle      „ 
Senior        „ 
Men 


Asklepiades. 

Dionusios. 

Timokles. 

Moschion. 

Aischrion. 


Stadion  (200  yards). 


Boys      .     .     . 
Junior  epheboi 
Middle      „ 
Senior       „ 
Men  „ 


Athenikon. 
Hestiaios. 
Apollonios. 
Artemon. 
Metrodoros. 


Diaulos  (400  yards). 
Boys       .     .     .     Athenikon, 
Junior  epheboi     Hubristos. 
Middle      „  Melantes. 

Senior       „  Apollonios. 

Men  „  Menis. 

(Apollonios  seems  to  have  been  so 
good  that,  though  a  middle  ephe- 
bos,  he  competed  in  and  w^on  the 
senior  ephebos'  race  here,  unless 
there  were  two  boys  of  the  same 
name.) 


Wrestling. 

Boxing. 

Boys      .     .     .     Athenikon. 

Boys       .     .     .     Herakleides. 

Junior  epheboi     Demetrios. 

(The  rest  is  wanting.) 

Middle      „          Moschos. 

Senior        „          Theodotos. 

(Notice    the  three   victories   of  the 

Men          „          Apellas. 

boy  Athenikon.) 

At  Thespiai  in  Boiotia  ^  there  were  prizes  for  senior 
and  junior  boys  in  the  various  races,  and  in  boxing, 
wrestling,  pankration,  and  pentathlon,  besides  open 
prizes  for  poetry  and  music  of  all  kinds.  Attic  inscrip- 
tions arrange  the  events  thus  ^  : — 


Stadion. 
Junior        Boys. 
Middle      Boys. 
Senior        Boys. 
Boys  Open. 

Men. 


Diaulos. 
Junior        Boys. 
Middle       Boys. 
Senior        Boys. 
Boys  Open. 

Men. 


Fighting  in  Heavy  Arms. 
Junior      Boys. 
Middle     Boys. 
Senior      Boys. 
Epheboi. 


*  C.I.G.  Boeot.  I J  60-1766. 


^  BOckh,  232,  245. 


CHAP.  II     GENERAL  INTRODUCTION  65 

The  Olympian  and  Pythian  festivals,  however,  had 
only  a  single  series  of  contests  for  boys  : — 

Olympia. 

Boys.     Stadion  (Pind.  01.  xiv.). 

Boxing  (Pind.  01.  x.,  xi.). 

Wrestling  (Pind.  01.  viii.). 
(only  in  628  b.c.)     Pentathlon, 
(not  till  200  B.C.)     Pankration. 

Pphia. 

Boys.     Long  Distance  Race. 

Diaulos  (400  yards)  (Pind.  Puth.  x.). 

Stadion  (200  yards)  (Pind.  Puth.  xi.). 

Boxing. 

Wrestling  (Bacchul.  xi.). 

Pankration  (not  till  346  e.g.). 

But  at  Nemea  both  pentathlon^  and  pankration^  for 
boys  had  already  been  established  by  Pindar's  time,  as 
well  as  the  more  usual  contests/ 

How  far  individual  schoolmasters,  as  distinct  from 
the  State,  gave  prizes  to  their  pupils,  is  little  known  ; 
an  epigram  in  the  Anthology  supplies  the  only  evidence, 
by  narrating  that  ''  Konnaros  received  eighty  knuckle- 
bones because  he  wrote  beautifully,  better  than  the 
other  boys."  *  But  probably  as  a  general  rule  the  task 
of  rewarding  merit  was  left  to  the  public  contests. 

Thus  the  State  did  much  to  encourage,  if  it  did 
little  to  assist  or  enforce,  education.  With  such 
splendid  rewards  before  them,  boys  were  probably 
quite  eager  to  attend  school,  or  at  any  rate  the  palaistra. 
As  soon  as  they  were  old  enough  to  go  to  school,^  they 

^  Pind.  Nem.  vii.  2  Bacchul.  xiii.,  Pind.  Nem.  v. 

^  Wrestling,  Pind.  Nem.  iv.,  vi.  *  Anthol.  ed.  Jacobs,  vi.  308. 

^  Sometimes  earlier.     Plato,  Protag.  325  c. 

F 


66  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

were  entrusted  to  an  elderly  slave,^  who  had  to  follow 
his  master's  boys  about  wherever  they  went  and  never 
let  them  go  out  of  his  sight.^  This  was  the  paidagogos 
— a  mixture  of  nurse,  footman,  chaperon,  and  tutor — 
who  is  so  prominent  a  figure  on  the  vases  and  in  the 
literature  of  classical  Hellas.  There  was  only  one  for 
the  family,  so  that  all  the  boys  had  to  go  about  together 
and  to  attend  the  same  schools  and  the  same  palaistrai 
at  the  same  time.^  He  waited  on  them  in  the  house, 
carried  their  books  or  lyres  to  school,  sat  and  watched 
them  in  the  schoolroom,  and  kept  a  strict  eye  upon 
their  manners  and  morality  in  the  streets  and  the 
gymnasia.  Thus,  for  instance,  in  Plato,  Lusis  and 
Menexenos  have  their  paidagogoi  in  attendance  at  the 
palaistra,  who  come  and  force  them  away  from  the 
absorbing  conversation  of  Sokrates,  when  it  is  time  for 
them  to  go  home.*  On  a  vase  these  attendants  may 
be  seen  sitting  on  stools  behind  their  charges,  in  the 
schools  of  letters  and  music,  with  long  and  suggestive 
canes  in  their  hands.^  A  careful  parent  would,  of 
course,  see  that  a  slave  who  was  to  occupy  so  respon- 
sible a  position  was  worthy  of  it :  but  great  carelessness 
seems  often  to  have  been  shown  in  this  matter.  The 
paidagogoi  of  Lusis  and  Menexenos,  boys  of  rank  and 
position,  had  a  bad  accent,  and  on  a  festival  day,  it  is 
true,  were  slightly  intoxicated.^     Plutarch  notices  that 

1  Elderly,  as  in  the  picture  of  Medeia  and  her  children  given  in  Smith's  Smaller 
Classical  Dictionary  under  "  Medea,"  and  on  Douris'  Kulix,  Plates  I.  a  and  I.  b  (if 
those  are  paidagogoi),  and  on  other  vases. 

2  So  Fabius  Cunctator  was  called  Hannibal's  paidagogos,  because  he  followed 
him  about  everywhere. 

'  There  is  only  one  for  Lusis  and  his  brothers  (Plato,  Lus.  223  a),  for  Medeia's 
two  children  (Eur.  Med.)^  for  two  boys  in  Lusis,  223  a,  and  for  Themistocles* 
children  (Herod,  viii.  75). 

*  Plato,  Lus.  208  c.     He  is  referred  to  as  Sde,  showing  that  he  is  present. 

*>  Illustr.  Plates  I.  a  and  I.  b.  Perhaps  only  the  walking-stick  carried  by  all 
Athenians.  6  pi^^^^  2:«,  ^^3  a. 


CHAP.  II     GENERAL  INTRODUCTION  67 

in  his  time  parents  often  selected  for  this  office  slaves 
who  were  of  no  use  for  any  other  purpose.^  Xenophon, 
feeling  the  demerits  of  the  Athenian  custom,  commends 
the  Spartans,  who  entrust  the  boys  not  to  slaves,  but 
to  public  officials  of  the  highest  rank.^  But  in  well- 
regulated  households  the  paidagogos  was  often  a  most 
worthy  and  valuable  servant.  Sikinnos,  who  attended 
the  children  of  Themistokles  in  this  capacity,  was 
entrusted  by  his  master  with  the  famous  message  to 
Xerxes,  which  brought  on  the  battle  of  Salamis  ;  he 
was  afterwards  rewarded  with  his  freedom,  the  citizen- 
ship of  Thespiai,  and  a  substantial  sum  of  money.^ 
The  custom  of  employing  these  male-nurses  dated  back 
to  early  times  at  Athens  :  for  Solon  made  regulations 
about  them.^ 

Boys  were  entrusted  to  paidagogoi  as  soon  as  they 
went  to  school  at  six.  This  tutelage  might  last  till 
the  boy  was  eighteen  ^  and  came  of  age  ;  but  more 
frequently  it  stopped  earlier.  Xenophon,^  in  his  wish 
to  disparage  everything  not  Spartan,  declares  that  in 
all  other  States  the  boys  were  set  free  from  paidagogoi 
and  schoolmasters  as  soon  as  they  became  fjuecpaKta, 
i.e.  at  about  fourteen  or  fifteen.  The  addition  of  the 
word  schoolmasters  suggests  the  explanation  of  the  varia- 
tions in  age.  When  an  elder  brother  ceased  to  attend 
school,  and  his  younger  brothers  were  still  pursuing 
their  studies,  there  being  only  one  paidagogos,  he  had 
to  be  left  unattended.  But  in  cases  where  there  was 
only  one  son,  or  where  the  eldest  of  several  stayed  on 

^  Plut.  Education  of  boys.  *  Xen.  Constit.  ofLak.  ii.  2. 

3  Herod,  viii.  75.  ■*  Aischin.  ag.  Timarch.  35.  10. 

^  In  the  guardian's  accounts  given  by  Lusias,  ag.  Diogeitofi,  32.  28,  a  paidagogos  is 
paid  for  till  the  boy  is  eighteen  ;  but  there  was  a  younger  brother,  for  whom  he  may 
have  been  required,  so  the  elder  may  have  been  free  earlier.  In  Plautus  (BaccL  138) 
we  find  a  paidagogos  in  attendance  till  his  charge  was  twenty, 

^  Xen.  Constit.  o/Lak.  iii.  1. 


68  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

at  school  until  he  came  of  age,  he  would  have  the 
paidagogos  to  attend  him  until  he  was  his  own  master. 

The  life  of  such  an  attendant  must  have  been  an 
anxious  one  in  many  cases.  Plato  compares  his  rela- 
tions towards  his  charges  with  the  relations  of  an 
invalid  towards  his  health  :  "  He  has  to  follow  the 
disease  wherever  it  leads,  being  unable  to  cure  it,  and 
he  spends  his  life  in  perpetual  anxiety  with  no  time  for 
anything  else."  ^  With  unruly  boys  of  different  ages, 
and  consequently  of  different  tastes  and  desires,  the 
slave  must  have  been  often  in  a  difficult  position. 
He  had,  however,  the  right  of  inflicting  corporal 
punishment. 

The  chief  object  of  the  paidagogos  was  to  safeguard 
the  morals  of  his  charges.  Boys  were  expected  to  be 
as  modest  and  quiet  in  their  whole  behaviour,  and  as 
carefully  chaperoned,  as  young  girls.  Parents  told 
the  schoolmasters  to  bestow  much  more  attention  upon 
the  boy's  behaviour  than  upon  his  letters  and  music.^ 
This  attitude  was  characteristic  of  Athens  from 
the  first.  The  school  laws  of  Solon,  as  quoted  by 
Aischines,  deal  wholly  with  morality.  He  gives  the 
following  account  of  them  ^  : — 

"  The  old  lawgivers  stated  expressly  what  sort  of 
life  the  free  boy  ought  to  lead  and  how  he  ought  to 
be  brought  up;  they  also  dealt  with  the  manners  of 
lads  and  men  of  other  ages."  "In  the  case  of  the 
schoolmasters,  to  whom  we  are  compelled  to  entrust 
our  children,  although  their  livelihood  depends  upon 
their  good  character,  and  bad  behaviour  is  ruinous  to 
them,  yet  the  lawgiver  obviously  distrusts  them.  For 
he  expressly  states,  first,  the  hour  at  which  the   free 

1  Plato,  Rep.  406  A.  2  Plato,  Protag.  325  D. 

^  Aischin.  ag.  Timarch.  9. 


CHAP.  II     GENERAL  INTRODUCTION  69 

boy  ought  to  go  to  school ;  secondly,  how  many  other 
boys  are  to  be  present  in  the  school ;  and  then  at  what 
hour  he  is  to  leave.  He  forbids  the  schoolmasters  to 
open  their  schools  and  the  paidotribai  their  palaistrai 
before  sunrise,  and  orders  them  to  close  before  sunset, 
being  very  suspicious  of  the  empty  streets  and  of  the 
darkness.  Then  he  dealt  with  the  boys  who  attended 
schools,  as  to  who  they  should  be  and  of  what  ages  ; 
and  with  the  official  who  is  to  oversee  these  matters. 
He  dealt  too  with  the  regulation  of  the  paidagogoi,  and 
with  the  festival  of  the  Muses  in  the  schools  and  of 
Hermes  in  the  palaistrai.  Finally,  he  laid  down 
regulations  about  the  joint  attendance  of  the  boys  and 
the  round  of  dithyrambic  dances  ;  for  he  directed  that 
the  Choregos  should  be  over  forty." 

"No  one  over  the  age  of  boyhood  might  enter 
while  the  boys  were  in  school,  except  the  son,  brother, 
or  son-in-law  of  the  master  :  the  penalty  of  infringing 
this  regulation  was  death.  At  the  festival  of  Hermes 
the  person  in  charge  of  the  gymnasium^  was  not  to 
allow  any  one  over  age  to  accompany  the  boys  in  any 
way :  unless  he  excluded  such  persons  from  the 
gymnasium,  he  was  to  come  under  the  law  of  corrupt- 
ing free  boys." 

It  will  be  noticed  that  these  regulations  are  entirely 
concerned  with  morality  :  they  safeguard  an  existing 
system.  They  prescribe  neither  the  methods  nor  the 
subjects  of  education ;  for  with  such  matters  the 
Athenian  government  did  not  interfere.  But  over 
the  question  of  morals  it  becomes  unexpectedly 
tyrannous,  and  makes  the  most  minute  regulations 
worthy  of  the  strictest  bureaucracy.     It  interfered  on 

^  'yvjxvacna.pxhs.       See    Excursus    on    yv/jivaaiapxoi.      This    law    was    totally 
neglected  in  Socratic  Athens.     See  Plato's  Lusis. 


yo  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

this  point  in  other  ways  also.  The  solemn  council  on 
the  Areiopagos  had  a  special  supervision  over  the 
young,  from  Solon's  time  onward  ;  this  was  partially 
taken  away  from  it  by  Ephialtes  and  Perikles,  but 
the  Axiochos  shows  that,  though  in  abeyance,  it  con- 
tinued to  exist ;  in  the  middle  of  the  fourth  century, 
however,  Isokrates  lanients  that  it  had  fallen  into  disuse. 
The  Axiochos  also  states  that  the  ten  Sophronistai, 
elected  to  guard  the  morals  of  the  epheboi,  exercised 
control  over  lads  also.  These  officials  probably  took 
their  rise  in  the  days  of  Solon  :  the  regulation  that 
they  must  be  over  forty  harmonises  with  the  other 
enactments  of  those  days  ;  and,  although  they  died  out 
at  the  end  of  the  fourth  century,  they  were  revived  under 
the  Roman  Empire.  Now  it  is  most  unlikely  that 
the  archaistic  legislators  of  imperial  times  would  have 
revived  an  office  which  had  only  existed  during  the 
closing  decades  of  the  fourth  century.  Solon  is  known 
to  have  appointed  a  magistracy  specially  to  deal  with 
the  children  ;  ^  and,  if  these  magistrates  were  not  the 
Sophronistai,  all  trace  of  his  creation  has  been  lost, 
which  is  most  unlikely  to  have  happened.  So  the 
Sophronistai  probably  date  from  early  times.  Their 
duty  was  a  general  supervision  of  the  morals  of  the 
young  ;  their  chief  function  would  be  to  prosecute, 
on  behalf  of  the  State,  parents  and  schoolmasters 
who  infringed  Solon's  moral  regulations.  But  such 
prosecutions  would  usually  be  undertaken  by  private 
individuals  concerned  in  the  case,  and  so  this  magistracy 
tended  to  become  a  sinecure.  It  may  even  have  ceased 
to  exist  after  the  fall  of  the  Areiopagos.  But  it 
seems  to  have  revived  under  the  restored  democracy 

Aischin.  ag.  Timarch.  lo.     The  word  <T(a(l>povL(TT'f}i^  in  a  general  sense,  occurs 
three  times  in  Thucydides. 


CHAP.  II     GENERAL  INTRODUCTION  71 

for  a  while  (if  the  Axiochos  belongs  to  Aischines  the 
Sokratic),  to  sink  again  in  the  middle  of  the  century. 
At  the  close  of  the  century  it  revives  once  more  with 
the  changes  in  the  ephebic  system,  and  finally  perishes 
when  the  epheboi  became  too  few  to  need  ten  officers  to 
supervise  their  morals.  An  account  of  the  Sophronistai 
of  this  later  period  will  be  given  in  connection  with  the 
epheboi. 

The  strategoi  ^  exercised  a  superintendence  over  the 
epheboi  during  their  two  years'  training  as  recruits,  as 
would  naturally  be  expected.  Late  in  the  fourth  century 
they  appear  also  to  have  been  connected  with  the  local 
schools  in  Attica ;  an  inscription  at  Eleusis,  which 
Girard  assigns  to  320  B.C.,  thanks  the  strategos 
Derkulos  for  the  diligence  which  he  had  shown  in 
supervising  the  education  of  the  children  there.^ 
Whether  they  exercised  such  functions  in  the  days 
when  their  military  duties  were  more  important,  is 
more  than  doubtful.  But  any  Athenian  magistrate 
could  interest  himself  in  the  schools,  no  doubt,  and 
intervene  to  check  abuses.^ 

In  the  period  of  juvenile  emancipation  and  increas- 
ing luxury  and  indulgence  for  children  which  marked 
the  closing  decades  of  the  fifth  century,  it  became 
customary  for  conservative  thinkers  to  look  back  with 
longing,  and  no  doubt  idealising,  eyes  to  the  "good 
old  times.'*  The  sixth  and  early  fifth  centuries  came, 
probably  unjustly,  to  be  regarded  as  the  ideal  age  of 
education,  when  children  learned  obedience  and  morality, 
and  were  not  pampered  and  depraved  ;  when  they  were 

^  Deinarchos,  ag.  Philokles,  15. 
^  Girard,  L' Education  Athenienne,  pp.  51,  52. 

2  The  Archon  Eponumos  had  the  control  of  orphans  and  probably  intervened 
if  their  education  was  neglected. 


72  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

beautiful  and  healthy,  not  pale-faced,  stunted,  and  over- 
educated. 

Listen  to  Aristophanes,^  yearning  for  "  the  good  old 
style  of  education,  in  the  days  when  Justice  still  prevailed 
over  Rhetoric,  and  good  morals  were  still  in  fashion. 
Then  children  were  seen  and  not  heard  ;  then  the  boys 
of  each  hamlet  and  ward  walked  in  orderly  procession 
along  the  roads  on  their  way  to  the  lyre-school, — no 
overcoats,  though  it  snowed  cats  and  dogs.  Then, 
while  they  stood  up  square — no  lounging — the  master 
taught  them  a  fine  old  patriotic  song  like  *  Pallas, 
city-sacker  dread,'  ^  or  *  A  cry  that  echoes  afar,'  ^  set 
to  a  good  old-fashioned  tune.  If  any  one  tried  any 
vulgar  trills  and  twiddles  and  odes  where  the  metre 
varies,  such  as  Phrunis  and  Co.  use  nowadays,  he  got 
a  tremendous  thrashing  for  disrespect  to  the  Muses." 
While  being  taught  by  the  paidotribes,  too,  they 
behaved  modestly,  and  did  not  spend  their  time  ogling 
their  admirers.  "  At  meals  children  were  not  allowed 
to  grab  up  the  dainties  or  giggle  or  cross  their  feet." 
"  This  was  the  education  which  produced  the  heroes 
of  Marathon.  .  .  .  This  taught  the  boys  to  avoid  the 
Agora,  keep  away  from  the  Baths,  be  ashamed  at  what 
is  disgraceful,  be  courteous  to  elders,  honour  their 
parents,  and  be  an  impersonation  of  Modesty — instead 
of  running  after  ballet-girls.  They  passed  their  days 
in  the  gymnasia,  keeping  their  bodies  in  good  condition, 
not  mouthing  quibbles  in  the  Agora.  Each  spent  his 
time  with  some  well-mannered  lad  of  his  own  age, 
running  races  in  the  Akademeia  under  the  sacred  olives, 
amid  a  fragrance  of  smilax  and  leisure  and  white 
poplar,  rejoicing  in  the  springtide  when  plane-tree  and 

1  Aristoph.  Clouds,  960  fF.  2  By  Lamprokles  (476  b.c). 

^  By  Kudides  (?  =  Kudia8.     Smyth,  Melk  Poets,  p.  347). 


CHAP.  II     GENERAL  INTRODUCTION  73 

elm  whisper  together."  All  the  voices  of  generations 
of  boys,  bound  down  to  indoor  studies  when  wood  and 
field  and  river  are  calling  them,  the  complaint  of  ages 
of  fevered  hurry  and  bustle,  looking  back  with  regret  on 
the  days  of  ''  leisure  "  and  "  springtide,"  seem  to  echo  in 
Aristophanes'  lament  for  the  days  that  were  no  more. 

"  This  education,"  he  goes  on,  "  produced  a  good 
chest,  sound  complexion,  broad  shoulders,  small  tongue  ; 
the  new  style  produces  pale  faces,  small  shoulders, 
narrow  chest,  and  long  tongue,  and  makes  the  boy 
confuse  Honour  with  Dishonour  :  it  fills  the  Baths, 
empties  the  Palaistra." 

The  next  witness  to  be  called  is  Isocrates.  He  is 
somewhat  prejudiced  by  his  dream  of  restoring  the 
Areiopagos  to  its  old  power,  but  he  is  an  educational 
expert  and  his  evidence  is  supported  by  that  of  many 
others.  In  the  days  when  the  Areiopagos  had  the 
superintendence  of  morals,  he  says,^  "the  young  did 
not  spend  their  time  in  the  gambling  dens,  and  with 
flute-girls  and  company  of  that  sort,  as  they  do  now, 
but  they  remained  true  to  the  manner  of  life  which  was 
laid  down  for  them.  .  .  .  They  avoided  the  Agora 
so  much,  that,  if  ever  they  were  compelled  to  pass 
through  it,  they  did  so  with  obvious  modesty  and  self- 
control.  To  contradict  or  insult  an  elder  was  at  that 
time  considered  a  worse  offence  than  ill-treatment  of 
parents  is  considered  now.  To  eat  or  drink  in  a  tavern 
was  a  thing  that  not  even  a  self-respecting  servant 
would  think  of  doing  then  ;  for  they  practised  good 
manners,  not  vulgarity." 

Call  Plato  next.^  "  In  a  democratic  state  the  school- 
master is  afraid  of  his  pupils  and  flatters  them,  and  the 
pupils  despise  both  schoolmaster  and  paidagogos.     The 

^  Isok.  Areiop.  149  c,  d.  2  piato,  Rep.  563  a. 


74  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

young  expect  the  same  treatment  as  the  old,  and  con- 
tradict them  and  quarrel  with  them.  In  fact,  seniors 
have  to  flatter  their  juniors,  in  order  not  to  be  thought 
morose  old  dotards." 

The  counts  of  the  indictment  are  luxury,  bad 
manners,  contempt  for  authority,  disrespect  to  elders, 
and  a  love  for  chatter  in  place  of  exercise.  The  old 
regime  had  strictly  forbidden  luxury.  Warm  baths 
had  been  regarded  as  unmanly,  and  were  even  coupled 
with  drunkenness  by  Hermippos.-^  The  boys  had  only 
worn  a  single  garment,  the  sleeveless  chiton,  a  custom 
which  survived  till  late  times  in  Sparta  and  Crete  ;  but 
at  Athens  they  began  to  wear  the  Ifiariov  or  overcoat  as 
well.  Xenophon,  blaming  parents  "in  the  rest  of 
Hellas''  {i.e.  elsewhere  than  in  Sparta),  says  :  "  They 
make  their  boy's  feet  soft  by  giving  him  shoes,  and 
pamper  his  body  with  changes  of  clothes  ;  they  also 
allow  him  as  much  food  as  his  stomach  can  contain."  ^ 
Children  began  to  be  the  tyrants,  not  the  slaves,  of 
their  households.  They  no  longer  rose  from  their 
seats  when  an  elder  entered  the  room  ;  they  contra- 
dicted their  parents,  chattered  before  company,  gobbled 
up  the  dainties  at  table,  and  committed  various  offences 
against  Hellenic  tastes,  such  as  crossing  their  legs. 
They  tyrannised  over  the  paidagogoi  and  schoolmasters. 
Alkibiades  even  smacked  a  literature-master.  A  similar 
change  came  over  the  position  of  children  in  England 
during  the  latter  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  If 
Maria  Edgeworth  could  have  met  a  modern  child,  she 
would  have  uttered  quite  Aristophanic  diatribes  against 
the  decay  of  good  manners. 

With  this  change  went  a  more  serious  matter,  a 
change  of  tone.     Whether  the  old  days  were  as  moral 

^  Floruit  432  B.C.  (in  Athen.  18  c).  2  Xen.  Comtit.  of  Lak.  ii.  i. 


CHAP.  II     GENERAL  INTRODUCTION  75 

as  the  conservatives  supposed,  may  be  doubted  ;  but 
the  atmosphere  of  Periclean  and  Socratic  Athens,  as 
represented  by  all  its  literary  lights,  was  certainly  most 
unsuitable  for  the  young.  Perhaps  general  morality 
was  no  worse,  but  the  immorality  was  no  longer  con- 
cealed from  the  children.  The  old  laws  which  had 
excluded  unsuitable  company  from  the  schools  and 
palaistrai  were  neglected,  and  these  educational  build- 
ings became  the  resort  of  all  the  fashionable  loungers 
of  Athens. 

The  preference  given  to  conversation  over  exercise 
was  a  feature  of  the  age.  In  part,  it  was  a  preference 
for  intellectual  as  against  purely  physical  education. 
The  free  discussion  with  children  of  ethical  subjects 
probably  ceased  with  the  death  of  Sokrates  ;  this  can 
hardly  be  regretted,  if  Plato's  evidence  as  to  the  nature 
of  Socratic  dialogues  is  to  be  believed.  From  the 
importance  which  Plato  gives  to  gymnastics  as  a 
corrective  to  exclusive  fiova-i/cj]  even  in  the  education  of 
his  highly  intellectual  Philosopher-Kings,  we  may  suspect 
that  the  revolt  against  excessive  athletics  at  Athens,  of 
which  Euripides  had  been  the  leader,  had  gone  too  far, 
and  that  a  reaction  was  needed.  Certainly  the  Athenians 
do  not  distinguish  themselves  for  pluck  or  energy  in 
the  fourth  century  :  in  Platonic  phrase,  the  temper 
of  their  resolution  had  been  melted  away  by  their 
exclusive  devotion  to  intellectual  and  artistic  pursuits. 

Let  me  close  this  subject,  however,  with  a  more 
pleasing  picture  of  that  alBoof;  or  modesty  at  which  the 
older  education  had  aimed.  It  is  taken  from  the  midst 
of  that  brilliant  but  corrupt  Socratic  Athens.^  Young 
Autolukos  had  won  the  boys'  contest  for  the  pankra- 
tion   at   the   great  Panathenaic  festival.     As   a    treat, 

^  Xen.  Banquet,  iii.  13. 


76  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

Kallias,  a  friend  of  his  father,  had  taken  him  to  the 
horse-races,  and  afterwards  invited  him  out  to  dinner 
with  his  father  Lukon  :  such  a  dignity  was  rarely 
accorded  to  an  Athenian  boy. 

The  boy  sits  at  table,  while  the  grown  men  recHne. 
Some  one  asked  him  what  he  was  most  proud  of — "Your 
victory,  I  suppose  ? "  He  blushed  and  said,  "  No,  Fm 
not."  Every  one  was  delighted  to  hear  his  voice,  for 
he  had  not  said  a  word  so  far.  "  Of  what  then  ?  " 
some  one  asked.  "Of  my  father,"  replied  the  boy, 
and  cuddled  up  against  him. 

These  shy,  blushing  boys  were  a  feature  of  the  age. 
The  stricter  parents,  knowing  the  dangers  which  sur- 
rounded their  sons,  tried  to  keep  them  entirely  from 
any  knowledge  or  experience  of  the  world. 

As  far  as  can  be  discovered  from  the  somewhat 
fragmentary  evidence,  the  Athenian  type  of  education 
was  prevalent  throughout  the  civilised  Hellenic  world, 
with  the  exception  of  Crete  and  Lakedaimon,  which 
had  systems  of  their  own.  Xenophon,  in  praising  the 
Spartan  system  and  contrasting  it  with  that  which  was 
prevalent  in  neighbouring  countries,  ascribes  to  what  he 
calls  "the  rest  of  Hellas"  educational  customs  and 
arrangements  exactly  similar  to  those  which  are  found 
to  have  existed  at  Athens.  His  statement  is  borne 
out  by  other  evidence.  Chios  certainly  had  a  School 
of  Letters  before  494  b.c.  ;  for  a  building  of  this 
sort  collapsed  in  that  year,  destroying  all  but  one  of 
the  120  pupils.^  Boiotia,  byword  for  stupidity,  had 
schools  even  in  the  smaller  towns.  A  small  place  like 
Mukalessos  had  more  than  one  ;  for  a  detachment  of 
wild  Thracian  mercenaries  in  the   pay  of  Athens  fell 

^  Herod,  vi.  27. 


CHAP.  II     GENERAL  INTRODUCTION  77 

upon  the  town  at  daybreak  one  morning  during  the 
Peloponnesian  War,  and  entering  "the  largest  school 
in  the  place,"  killed  all  the  boys.^  Arkadia  had  an 
equally  bad  reputation  ;  yet,  according  to  Polubios,^  in 
every  Arcadian  town  the  boys  were  compelled  by  law 
to  learn  to  sing.  Troizen  must  have  had  schools  in 
480,  when  she  provided  them  for  her  Athenian  guests. 
Aelian  vouches  for  schools  in  Lesbos,^  Pausanias  *  for  a 
school  of  sixty  boys  in  Astupalaia  in  496  B.C.  The 
poet  Sophocles  dined  with  a  master  of  letters  whose 
school  was  either  in  Eretria  or  Eruthrai.^  The 
inscriptions  show  that  before  the  third  century  there 
were  flourishing  schools  in  most  of  the  islands. 

Gymnastic  education  must  have  gone  on  in  every 
Hellenic  city,  for  the  athletic  victors  at  the  great  games 
come  from  every  part.  Musical  training  too  was 
required  for  the  dancing  and  singing  which  were 
universal  throughout  Hellas  ;  but  how  far  the  lyre  was 
tauffht    must  remain    doubtful.     In   Boiotia  the   flute 

o 

replaced  the  lyre  in  the  schools.  But  it  may  be  taken 
for  granted  that  letters,  some  sort  of  music,  and  gym- 
nastics were  taught  in  every  part  of  civilised  Hellas, 
with  the  possible  exception  that  letters  may  not  have 
been  taught  at  Sparta. 

Secondary  Education,  as  long  as  it  was  supplied  by 
the  Sophists,  reached  every  village  in  the  Hellenic 
world  ;  later,  it  had  a  tendency  to  be  confined  to  the 
large  towns.  The  Tertiary  system  of  military  training 
and  special  gymnastics  for  the  epheboi  would  seem,  from 
the  scanty  evidence  of  the  inscriptions,  to  have  been 
well-nigh  universal. 

I  will  now  proceed  to  give  a  more  detailed  account 

^  Thuc.  vii.  29.  2  PqI^  [y   ^q^  j^  3  ^gl.  Var.  Hist.  7.  15. 

4  Pausan.  vi.  9.  6.  5  Athen.  604  a-b. 


78 


SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS 


PART  I 


of  the  several  branches  of  this  widespread  educational 
system.  As  the  evidence  comes  almost  entirely  from 
Athens,  my  description  will  deal  in  the  main  with 
Athenian  education  ;  but,  as  the  same  type  prevailed 
throughout  the  greater  part  of  Hellas,  the  description 
may  be  taken  as  applying  to  the  other  cities  also. 


CHAPTER   III 

ATHENS    AND    THE    REST    OF    HELLAS  : 
PRIMARY    EDUCATION 

We  have  seen  that  Primary  Education  in  Hellas  con- 
sisted of  letters  and  music,  with  a  contemporary  training 
in  gymnastics  ;  to  which  triple  course  was  added,  late  in 
the  fourth  century,  drawing  and  painting.  How  the  day 
was  divided  between  mental  and  physical  training  is 
unknown — probably,  like  everything  else,  this  varied 
with  the  taste  of  the  individual  —  but  the  following 
sketch  from  Lucian,^  although  it  belongs  to  a  much 
later  date,  may  perhaps  give  some  idea  of  a  schoolboy's 
day  : — 

"  He  gets  up  at  dawn,  washes  the  sleep  from  his 
eyes,  and  puts  on  his  cloak.  Then  he  goes  out  from 
his  father's  house,  with  his  eyes  fixed  upon  the  ground, 
not  looking  at  any  one  who  meets  him.  Behind  him 
follow  attendants  and  paidagogoi,  bearing  in  their  hands 
the  implements  of  virtue,  writing-tablets  or  books  con- 
taining the  great  deeds  of  old,  or,  if  he  is  going  to  a 
music-school,  his  well-tuned  lyre. 

"  When  he  has  laboured  diligently  at  intellectual 
studies,  and  his  mind  is  sated  with  the  benefits  of  the 
school   curriculum,    he    exercises   his    body   in    liberal 

1  Lucian,  Lovesy  44-45. 
79 


8o  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

pursuits,  riding  or  hurling  the  javelin  or  spear.  Then 
the  wrestling-school  with  its  sleek,  oiled  pupils,  labours 
under  the  mid-day  sun,  and  sweats  in  the  regular  athletic 
contests.  Then  a  bath,  not  too  prolonged  ;  then  a 
meal,  not  too  large,  in  view  of  afternoon  school.  For 
the  schoolmasters  are  waiting  for  him  again,  and  the 
books  which  openly  or  by  allegory  teach  him  who  was 
a  great  hero,  who  was  a  lover  of  justice  and  purity. 
With  the  contemplation  of  such  virtues  he  waters  the 
garden  of  his  young  soul.  When  evening  sets  a  limit 
to  his  work,  he  pays  the  necessary  tribute  to  his  stomach 
and  retires  to  rest,  to  sleep  sweetly  after  his  busy  day." 
The  school  hours  were  naturally  arranged  to  suit  the 
times  of  Hellenic  meals,  for  which  the  boys  returned 
home.  The  ordinary  arrangement  was  a  light  breakfast 
at  daybreak,  a  solid  meal  at  mid-day,  and  supper  at 
sunset.  So  the  schools  opened  at  sunrise.^  Solon 
enacted  that  they  should  not  open  earUer.  They  closed 
in  time  to  allow  the  boys  to  return  home  to  lunch,^ 
opened  again  in  the  afternoon,  and  closed  before  sunset.^ 
How  many  of  the  intermediate  hours  were  spent  in 
work/  and  what  intervals  there  were,  is  unknown. 
There  was,  of  course,  no  weekly  rest  on  Sundays  ;  but 
festivals,  which  were  whole  holidays,  were  numerous 
throughout  Hellas,  and,  in  Alexandria  at  any  rate,  on 
the  yth  and  20th  of  every  month  the  schools  were  closed, 
these  days  being  sacred  to  Apollo.^  There  were  also 
special  school  festivals,  such  as  that  of  the  Muses,  and 

^  Aischin.  ag.  Timarch.  iz  ;   Thuc.  vii.  29  ;    Plato,  Laws. 

2  Lucian,  Parasite,  61.  3  Aischin.  ag.  Timarch.  12. 

^  Anthol.  Palat.  x.  43  has  been  quoted  as  evidence  that  six  hours'  work  a  day  was 
a  maximum.  The  epigram  runs  :  "  Six  hours  suffice  for  work  ;  the  rest  of  the  day, 
expressed  in  numerals,  says  ^rjdi,  '  enjoy  life.'  "  But  the  point  is  the  joke  that  the 
numerals  for  7,  8,  9,  10,  the  later  hours  of  the  day,  are  ^,  97',  d',  t',  which  spells 
i^ijdi.  The  epigram  does  not  mean  to  state  a  fact  j  the  joke  is  its  only  raison  d'etre. 
In  any  case  schools  are  not  mentioned.  5  Herpndas,  Schoolmaster  (iii.)  53. 


CHAP.  Ill        PRIMARY  EDUCATION  8i 

holidays  in  commemoration  of  benefactors  ;  thus  Anax- 
agoras  left  a  bequest  to  Klazomenai,  on  condition  that 
the  day  of  his  death  should  be  celebrated  annually  by  a 
holiday  in  the  schools.^  It  must  also  be  remembered 
that  one  of  the  three  branches  of  Primary  Education  in 
Hellas  would  be  called  play  in  England  :  an  afternoon 
spent  in  running  races,  jumping,  wrestling,  or  riding 
would  not  be  regarded  as  work  by  an  English  schoolboy. 
Music,  too,  is  usually  learned  during  play-hours  in  an 
English  school.  Even  Letters,  when  the  elementary 
stage  was  past,  meant  reciting,  reading,  or  learning  by 
heart  the  literature  of  the  boy's  own  language,  and  most 
of  it  not  stiff  literature  by  any  means,  but  such  fascin- 
ating fairy-tales  as  are  found  in  Homer.  There  is  little 
trace  of  Hellenic  boys  creeping  unwillingly  to  school : 
their  lessons  were  made  eminently  attractive. 

Of  the  fees  which  were  paid  to  schoolmasters  little 
is  known.  An  amusing  passage  in  Lucian,^  dealing 
with  the  under-world,  describes  those  who  had  been 
kings  or  satraps  upon  earth  as  reduced  in  the  future 
state  "  to  beggary,  and  compelled  by  poverty  either  to 
sell  kippers  or  to  teach  the  elements  of  reading  and 
writing."  From  this  it  may  be  inferred  that  ele- 
mentary schoolmasters  did  not  make  much  money  by 
their  fees.  This  inference  is  supported  by  the  fact  that 
even  the  poorest  Athenians  managed  to  send  their  sons 
to  such  schools.  Plato  in  the  Laws  reserves  the 
profession  for  foreigners,  thus  suggesting  that  it  was 
neither  well  paid  nor  highly  esteemed.  To  call  a  man 
a  schoolmaster  was  almost  an  insult ;  Demosthenes, 
abusing  Aischines,  says,  *'  You  taught  letters,  I  went 
to  school."  ^    The  weakness  of  the  masters'  position  may 

*  MahafFy,  Greek  Education,  p.  54.  ^  Lucian,  Nekuom.  17. 

'  Dem.  de  Cor.  315. 


82  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

be  seen  too  from  the  extreme  contempt  with  which  their 
pupils  seem  to  have  treated  them.  The  boys  bring 
their  pets — cats  and  dogs  and  leopards — into  school, 
and  play  with  them  under  the  master's  chair.  Theo- 
phrastos/  in  describing  the  characteristics  of  the  mean 
man,  says  that  "  he  does  not  send  his  children  to  school 
all  the  month  of  Anthesterion  *'  (that  is,  from  the  middle 
of  February  to  the  middle  of  March)  "  on  account  of 
the  number  of  feasts."  The  school-bills  were  paid  by 
the  month,  and,  since  boys  did  not  go  to  school  on  the 
great  festivals,  and  Anthesterion  contained  many  such 
days,  the  mean  parent  thought  he  would  not  get  his 
money's  worth  for  this  particular  month,  and  so  with- 
drew his  boys  while  it  lasted. 

Mean  parents  also  deducted  from  the  fees  in 
proportion,  if  their  sons  were  absent  from  school  owing 
to  ill-health  for  a  day  or  two  ;  ^  but  this  was  not 
usually  done.  The  bills  were  paid  on  the  30th  of  each 
month.^  Schoolmasters  apparently  had  some  difficulty 
in  getting  their  bills  paid  at  all ;  according  to 
Demosthenes'  statement,  his  bills  were  never  paid, 
owing  to  the  fraudulent  behaviour  of  his  guardian 
Aphobos."* 

No  doubt  the  fees  varied  according  to  the  merits 
of  the  school,  for  the  schools  at  Athens  seem  to  have 
differed  greatly.  Demosthenes,  when  boasting  of  his 
career,  in  his  speech  On  the  Crown,  says  that  he 
went  as  a  boy  to  the  respectable  schools  ;  ^  the  quality 
and  quantity  of  the  teaching  must  have  been  varied 
to  suit  the  parent's  pocket.  For  the  poor  there  would 
probably  be  schools  where  only  the  elements  of  reading 

^  Theoph,  Char.  30.  2  7^/^  ^q^ 

"  Herondas,  iii.  3.  4  Demos,  ag.  Aphobos,  i.  828. 

°  Demos.  Croivn,  312. 


CHAP.  Ill        PRIMARY  EDUCATION  83 

and  writing  were  taught.  In  the  higher  class  of  school 
these  elements  would  be  taught  by  under-masters, 
frequently  slaves ;  but  free  citizens  might  also  be 
reduced  by  poverty  to  take  such  a  post.  This  may  be 
seen  from  the  case  of  the  father  of  Aischines,  the 
orator.^  Impoverished  and  exiled  like  many  democrats 
by  the  Thirty  Tyrants,  he  returned  with  the  Restoration 
a  ruined  man.  To  earn  his  living,  he  became  an  usher 
at  the  school  of  one  Elpias,  close  to  the  Theseion, 
and  taught  letters:  his  son  Aischines  seems  to  have 
begun  his  life  by  assisting  his  father  in  this  occupation. 
His  opponent,  Demosthenes,  takes  advantage  of  the 
contempt  with  which  these  ushers  were  regarded  to 
declare  that  the  father  was  a  slave  of  Elpias,^  "  wearing 
big  fetters  and  a  collar,"  and  the  son  was  employed  in 
"  grinding  the  ink  and  sponging  the  forms  and  sweep- 
ing out  the  schoolroom  (TraLBayayelov)^  the  work  of  a 
servant,  not  of  a  free  boy.'* 

No  doubt  letters  and  music  were  often  taught  at 
the  same  school,  in  different  rooms.  Such  an  arrange- 
ment would  be  natural  and  convenient.  The  vases 
suggest  it,  but  their  evidence  is  uncertain.  The  school 
buildings  seem  often  to  have  been  surrounded  by  play- 
grounds. A  passage  in  Aelian^  shows  us  the  boys, 
just  let  out  of  school,  playing  at  tug-of-war.  No 
doubt  in  these  places  they  played  with  their  hoops 
and  tops,  and  amused  themselves  with  pick-a-back  and 
the  stone-  and  dice-games  which  corresponded  to  our 
marbles.  In  villages  these  playgrounds  probably  did 
duty  as  palaistrai. 

The  headmaster  of  the  school  sat  on  a  chair  with  a 

^  Demos.  Crcnvn,  270.     This  is  the  most  probable  restoration  of  the  facts  from 
the  statements  of  the  opposing  orators. 
2  Ibid.  313. 
2  Aelian,  Far.  Hist.  xii.  9  (at  Klazomenai). 


84  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

high  back  ;  under-m asters  and  boys  had  stools  without 
backs,  but  cushions  were  provided.  For  lessons  in 
class  there  were  benches.-^  There  was  a  high  reading- 
desk  for  recitations.  Round  the  walls  hung  writing- 
tablets,  rulers,  and  baskets  or  cases  containing  manuscript 
rolls  labelled  with  the  author's  name,  composing  the 
school  library  ;  the  rolls  might  also  hang  by  themselves.^ 
Masters  were  expected  to  possess  at  any  rate  a  copy  of 
Homer — Alkibiades  thrashed  one  who  did  not.  Some- 
times they  emended  their  edition  themselves.^  In  the 
music-schools  hung  lyres  and  flutes  and  flute-cases. 
The  'TraiBaycDyeLov  mentioned  by  Demosthenes  may  have 
been  an  anteroom  where  the  paidagogoi  sat,  but  more 
probably  the  word  is  only  a  rhetorical  variant  for 
**  schoolroom."  There  were  often  busts  of  the  Muses 
round  the  walls,*  which  were  also  decorated  with  vases, 
serving  for  domestic  purposes,  and,  perhaps,  illustrating 
with  their  pictures  the  books  which  the  boys  were 
reading.  At  a  later  date,  at  any  rate,  a  series  of 
cartoons,  illustrating  scenes  in  the  Iliad  and  Odyssey, 
were  sometimes  hung  upon  the  walls  :  The  "  Tabula 
lUaca,"  now  in  the  Capitoline  Museum,  has  been 
recognised  as  a  fragment  of  such  a  series. 

The  first  stage  was  to  learn  to  read  and  write. 
Instead  of  a  slate,  boys  in  Hellas  had  tablets  of  wax, 
usually  made  in  two  halves,  so  as  to  fold  on  a  hinge 
in  the  middle,  the  waxen  surfaces  coming  inwards  and 
-SO  being  protected.  Sometimes  there  were  three  pieces, 
forming  a  triptych,  or  even  more.      For  pencil,  they 

*  Benches  do  not  appear  on  vases,  because  a  row  of  boys  involves  elaborate  per- 
spective ;  the  artist  preferred  to  take  single  boys  on  stools,  as  a  sort  of  section  of  a 
class,  just  as  he  gave  the  stools  only  two  legs.  Xen.  Banquet,  4.  27,  shows  two 
boys  sitting  side  by  side.     It  is  not  necessary  to  reject  benches,  with  Girard. 

■  Alexis,  Linos  (in  Athen.  164  B.C.).      See  Illustr.  Plates  I.  a.  and  I.  b. 

»  Plut.  Alkib.  7.  4  Herondas,  iii.  83.  96. 


CHAP.  Ill        PRIMARY  EDUCATION  85 

had  an  instrument  with  a  sharp  point  at  one  end, 
suitable  for  making  marks  on  the  wax,  and  a  flat 
surface  at  the  other,  which  was  used  to  erase  what  had 
been  written,  and  so  make  the  tablets  ready  for  future 
use.  These  tablets  are  shown  in  the  school-scenes  on  the 
fifth-century  vases.^  At  a  later  period,  when  parchment 
and  papyrus  became  more  common,  these  materials  were 
used  in  the  schools.  Lines  could  be  ruled  with  a  lump 
of  lead,  and  writing  done  either  with  ink  and  a  reed  pen 
or  with  lead  ;  for  erasures  a  sponge  was  employed. 

The  early  stages  of  learning  to  write  are  described 
in  the  Protagoras  of  Plato.^  "When  a  boy  is  not 
yet  clever  at  writing,  the  masters  first  draw  lines,  and 
then  give  him  the  tablet  and  make  him  write  as  the 
lines  direct."  The  passage  has  been  variously  inter- 
preted. Some  regard  the  master  as  merely  writing  a 
series  of  letters  which  the  boy  is  to  copy  underneath. 
The  words  used  in  Greek  for  the  master's  writing  is 
vTroyd-ylravre^,  and  it  is  significant  that  the  word  for 
a  "  copy  "  in  this  sense  is  a  derivative  of  this  word, 
vTroypafifio^i.  Such  a  copy,  corresponding  to  the 
phrases  like  "  England  exports  engines  "  or  '*  Germany 
grows  grapes,"  which  are  employed  in  English  schools 
for  this  purpose,  is  extant.^  It  is  a  nonsense  sentence, 
designed  to  contain  all  the  letters  of  the  alphabet, 
fidpiTTe  (T<l>ly^  K\a)^fr  ^jSvxOrjBov'  If  this  rendering  is 
correct,  the  master  wrote  a  sentence  of  this  sort  on 
the  tablets,  and  the  boy  copied  it  underneath.  Others 
interpret  the  lines  which  the  master  draws  on  the 
tablet  as  parallel  straight  lines,  within  which  the  boy 

^  See  lUustr.  Plate  No.  I.  a.  ^  piato,  Protag.  326  d. 

^  In  Clement  of  Alexandria,  who  gives  two  others.  Strom,  v.  8  (p.  675,  Potter). 
A  writing  copy  set  by  a  master,  though  not  of  the  alphabetical  kind  described  by 
Clement,  is  actually  extant  on  a  wax  tablet  in  the  British  Museum  (Add.  MS.  34,186). 
It  consists  of  two  lines  of  verse  written  out  by  the  master  and  copied  twice  by  a  pupil. 


86  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

had  to  write.  Just  such  a  device  is  often  employed 
in  English  copy-books.  The  word  used  for  "lines," 
r^pafiiJbai,  usually  means  "  straight  lines,"  which  supports 
this  interpretation.  But  vTroypacfn],  on  the  other  hand, 
a  derivative  of  vTror^pd(^eLv,  is  used  for  irregular  traces, 
e.g.  a  footstep/  and  vTroypd^etv  itself  is  a  technical 
term  in  Hellenic  art  for  *'  sketching  in  "  what  is  after- 
wards to  be  finished  in  detail.  Consequently  a  third 
rendering  of  the  passage  makes  the  master  draw  a 
faint,  rough  outline  of  the  various  letters,  and  the  boy 
has  to  go  over  them  with  his  pen,  marking  the  grooves 
in  the  wax  deeper  and  filling  in  the  details.  For 
example,  in  England,  the  master  might  draw  |  •  |  and 
the  boy  go  over  the  two  vertical  lines  and  draw  in 
the  other  two,  M.  Thus  all  three  interpretations  are 
sensible  and  rest  on  good  authority.  But  surely  the 
master  may  be  regarded  as  adopting  all  three  processes, 
according  to  the  intelligence  of  the  pupils.  For  the 
beginner  he  would  outline  the  whole  letter,  and  leave 
him  only  the  task  of  going  over  it  again.  Then  he 
would  gradually  give  less  and  less  help,  till  the  boy  was 
capable  of  writing  the  letters  with  the  assistance  of  the 
parallel  lines  alone.  Finally  these  would  be  withdrawn, 
and  the  boy  would  be  left  to  write  his  imitation  of  the 
copy  without  assistance.  The  phrase  in  Plato  is  pur- 
posely vague,  and  will  include  the  whole  of  this  process. 
The  letters  were  written  in  lines  horizontal  and 
vertical,  so  that  they  fell  beneath  one  another.  No 
stops  or  accents  were  inserted,  and  no  spaces  were  left 
between  words.  The  writing-master  probably  ruled 
both  the  horizontal  and  the  vertical  lines  on  the  tablet 
for  his  pupil.  On  the  Vase  of  Douris,^  an  under- 
master    is    represented    as     writing   with   his   pen   on 

1  Aeschylus,  CAoeph.  209.  2  lUustr.  Plate  I.  a. 


CHAP.  Ill        PRIMARY  EDUCATION  87 

a  wax  tablet,  while  a  boy  stands  in  front  of  him.  He 
is  probably  meant  either  to  be  writing  a  copy  or  else 
correcting  his  pupiFs  exercise.  Over  his  head  hangs  a 
ruler,  for  marking  out  the  guiding  lines  on  the  tablet. 
Behind  the  boy  sits  a  bearded  man  with  a  staff,  who  is 
probably  the  paidagogos.  The  boys  in  the  class  are 
clearly  coming  up  one  by  one  to  receive  their  copies  or 
have  their  exercises  corrected,  while  the  rest  are  doing 
their  writing.  It  will  be  noticed  that  there  is  no  desk 
or  table  :  the  Hellenes  wrote  with  their  tablets  on  their 
knees. 

As  soon  as  the  boy  had  acquired  a  certain  facility  in 
writing,  he  entered  the  dictation  class.  The  master  read 
out  something,  and  the  boys  wrote  it  down.^  At  first, 
of  course,  very  simple  words  would  be  dictated,  and 
there  would  not  be  much  to  write.  But,  later  on,  the 
boys  would  write  at  his  dictation  passages  of  the  poets 
and  other  authors.  For  this  purpose,  ink  and  parch- 
ment may  sometimes  have  been  employed  :  Aischines 
seems  to  have  *'  ground  ink  "  ^  for  a  writing-school. 
Various  "  elaborations  in  the  way  of  speed  and  beauty  " 
of  writing  seem  to  have  been  customary  in  the  case  of 
more  advanced  pupils.^  Possibly  they  learnt  to  make 
flourishes  and  ornamental  letters.  Speed  wquld  naturally 
be  taught,  for  it  was  usual  to  take  notes  at  the  lectures 
of  Sophists  and  Philosophers,  and  speed  is  required 
for  this  purpose.  This  must  have  involved  the  use 
of  the  cursive  letters,  which  otherwise  were  not  needed, 
for  the  Hellene  had  not  very  much  writing  to  do, 
unless  he  became  a  clerk  to  a  public  body. 

Learning  to  read  must  have  been  a  difficult  business 
in  Hellas,  for    books  were   written  in   capitals  at  this 

1  Xen,  Econ.  xv.  5.  2  Demosth.  de  Cor.  313. 

^  Plato,  Laivs,  8io  a  (cp.  the  prizes  for  calligraphy  in  Tecs). 


88  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

time.  There  were  no  spaces  between  the  words,  and  no 
stops  were  inserted.  Thus,  the  reader  had  to  exercise 
much  ingenuity  before  he  could  arrive  at  the  meaning 
of  a  sentence.  Still  more  difficult  for  the  boys  to  grasp 
was  the  Attic  accent,  upon  which  the  masters  set  a  great 
importance.  So  difficult  was  it,  that  few  foreigners 
ever  acquired  it,  and  a  born  Athenian,  if  he  went  abroad 
for  a  few  years,  often  lost  the  power  of  speaking  with 
the  Attic  intonation.  The  first  step  in  learning  to  read 
is  to  acquire  the  alphabet.  The  Hellenes,  wishing,  as 
usual,  to  make  learning  as  easy  as  possible,  seem  to  have 
put  the  alphabet  into  verse.  A  metrical  alphabet, 
ascribed  to  Kallias,  a  contemporary  of  Perikles,  is  still 
extant,  but  in  a  mutilated  form,  which  has  been  restored 
in  several  not  very  convincing  ways.  Probably  it  has 
been  adapted  to  suit  different  alphabets,  for  there  were 
several  current  in  different  parts  of  Hellas.  The  follow- 
ing is  a  cqnjectural  restoration  : — 

ta-r  aA^a,  ^^ra,  ya/x/Aa,  SeAra  t  ,  €t  re,  Kai 
^^T ,  ^Ttt,  ^'JJt  ,  twra,  KciTTTra,  Aa^8a,  yw,v, 
vv,  ^€t,  TO  ov,  Tret,  /ow,  rh  o-ty/xa,  rav,  rh  S, 
Trdpovra  cftel  re  xel  re  r(f  xf/el  els  to  (5.1 

This  complete  alphabet  of  twenty-four  letters,  which 
appears  in  modern  Greek  Grammars,  was  not  adopted 
for  official  purposes  at  Athens  till  403  b.c,  "  but  it  is 
clear  that  it  was  in  ordinary  use  at  Athens  consider- 
ably earlier.''  ^ 

This  metrical  alphabet  formed  the  prologue  to  what 
may  be  called  a  spelling-drama,  in  which  the  whole 
process  of  learning  to  spell  was  expressed  either  in 
iambic  lines  or  in  choral  songs.  Since  its  author, 
Kallias,  is   coupled  with   Strattis,    the  comic    poet,^  it 

1  Athen.  453  d.  2  Q^gg.  Manual  of  ComparaH've  Philology,  §  604. 

*  Athen.  453  c,  d. 


CHAP.  Ill        PRIMARY  EDUCATION  89 

may  be  inferred  that  the  play  was  a  comedy,  not  a 
tragedy  ;  the  chorus  would  then  be  twenty -four  in 
number.  Each  member  of  the  chorus  represented  one 
of  the  twenty-four  letters.  In  the  first  choric  song  the 
letters  were  put  together  in  pairs,  in  the  fashion  of  a 
spelling  class.     The  first  strophe  runs  as  follows  : — 


Beta 

Alpha 

BA 

Beta 

Ei 

Bfi 

Beta 

Eta 

BE 

Beta 

Iota 

BI 

Beta 

Ou 

BO 

Beta 

U 

BU 

Beta 

0 

BQi 

In  the  corresponding  antistrophe  Gamma  was  similarly 
coupled  with  the  seven  vowels,  and  so  on  apparently 
through  the  alphabet.  During  the  song,  which  was  set 
to  excellent  music,  the  members  of  the  chorus,  dressed 
to  represent  the  letters  quite  clearly,  and  no  doubt 
posturing  in  the  right  attitude,  would  form  themselves 
into  the  required  pairs.  Thus,  during  the  first  line 
Beta  and  Alpha  would  come  together,  during  the  second 
Beta  and  Ei,  and  so  on.  After  this  song  came  a  lecture 
on  the  vowels,  in  iambic  verse,  the  chorus  being  told  to 
repeat  them  one  by  one  after  the  speaker.  There  seems 
to  have  been  a  plot  of  some  sort  in  this  extraordinary 
drama,  but  the  main  interest  was,  no  doubt,  the  spelling. 
Opportunities  were  also  taken  for  describing  the  shapes 
of  the  letters,  the  audience  having  to  guess  what  letter 
was  intended.  This  kind  of  alphabetical  puzzle  seems  to 
have  caught  the  popular  fancy  at  Athens,  for  Euripides, 

1  A  fragment  of  terra-cotta  has  been  found  at  Athens,  containing  on  it : 

ap  fiap  yap  Sap 

ep  ^ep  yep  Sep 
which  must  have  belonged  to  some  spelling-book — perhaps  the  brick  formed  part  of 
the  wall  of  a  schoolroom. — Quoted  by  Girard,  p.  131. 


90 


SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS 


PART  I 


Agathon,  and  Theodektes  all  employed  it.     In  each 
case  the  concealed  word  was  "  Theseus." 

Euripides'  description,  if  it  be  his,  may  be  rendered 
thus : — 

First,  such  a  circle  as  is  measured  out 
By  compasses,  a  clear  mark  in  the  midst. 
The  second  letter  is  two  upright  lines. 
Another  joining  them  across  their  middles. 
The  third  is  like  a  curl  of  hair.     The  fourth. 
One  upright  line  and  three  crosswise  infixed. 
The  fifth  is  hard  to  tell  :  from  several  points 
Two  lines  run  down  to  form  one  pedestal. 
The  last  is  with  the  third  identical. 


In  the  same  spirit,  Sophocles,  in  his  satyric  drama 
Amphiaraos,  introduced  an  actor  who  represented 
the  shapes  of  the  letters  by  his  dancing.^  Periclean 
Athens  seems  to  have  taken  a  very  keen  interest  in 
matters  of  spelling  :  the  audience  must  all  have  known 
their  letters,  or  such  devices  could  never  have  become 
so  popular. 

Kallias*  play  is  the  ancestor  of  such  books  as 
Reading  without  Tears.  His  dramatic  presentation 
of  the  process  of  spelling  must  have  caught  the  imagina- 
tion and  impressed  the  memory  of  many  Athenian  boys. 
It  may  even  be  suspected  that  his  method  was  adopted 
in  enterprising  schools,  and  spelling  lessons  were  con- 
ducted to  a  tune,  perhaps  even  accompanied  by  dancing.^ 
The  tunes  of  Kallias  were  highly  praised,  and  were,  no 
doubt,  very  different  from  the  monotonous  drone  which 
announces  to  the  outside  world  the  presence  of  a  Board 
School. 

*  Athen.  454  f. 

'^  This  is  by  no  means  inconceivable,  when  it  is  remembered  that  the  Hellenes 
often  set  even  the  laws  to  music,  in  order  to  make  them  easier  to  learn  and 
remember. 


CHAP.  Ill        PRIMARY  EDUCATION  91 

To  return  to  more  prosaic  methods.     Plato  gives  an 

interesting  sketch  ^  of  a  reading  class.     ''  When   boys 

lave  just  learnt  their  letters,  they  recognise  any  of  them 

Freadily  enough  in  the  shortest  and  easiest  syllables,  and 

ire  able  to  give  a  correct  answer  about  them.     But  in 

the  longer  and  more   difficult  syllables  they   are  not 

:ertain,  but  form  a  wrong  opinion  and  answer  wrongly. 

|Then  the  best  way  is  to  take  them  back  to  the  syllables 

in  which  they  recognise  the  same  letters  and  then  com- 

ipare  them  with  those  in  which  they  made  mistakes,  and, 

butting  them  side  by  side,  show  that  in  both  combina- 

[tions  the  same  letters  have  the  same  meaning." 

Take    an    English    example.       The    master   writes 

ICRAPE  on  the   blackboard  and  asks  the  boys  to  tell 

[him  what  letters  it  contains.     The  class  fail  to  recognise 

[the  letters  :  the  word  is  too  long  and  difficult.     The 

laster  then  writes  beside  it  consecutively  ape,  rape, 

;ape,  in  all  of  which   the  boys  recognise  the   letters 

:orrectly.       Then    crape   and    scrap.       From    these 

le  passes  on  to  scrape,  which  they  now  recognise  by 

'analogy  from    the   words  which   they   know   already. 

"Finally,  they  learn  always  to  give  the  same  name  to 

the  same  letter  whenever  it  comes."  ^ 

The  methods  by  which  boys  learn  to  spell  are  the 
same  in  all  ages.  "  When  boys  come  together  to  learn 
their  letters,  they  are  asked  what  letters  there  are  in 
some  word  or  other."  ^  A  certain  amount  of  mental 
arithmetic  seems  to  have  been  included  in  this  stage 
of  spelling  :  the  pupils  were  asked  how  many  letters 
there  were  in  a  word,  as  well  as  the  order  in  which 
they  were  arranged.*  But  this  will  be  discussed 
later. 

^  Plato,  Folit.  278  A,  B.  2  7^/^. 

^  Ibid.  285  c.  *  Xen.  Econ.  viii.  14. 


92  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

While  the  boys  were  still  unable  to  read,  and  often 
afterwards  owing  to  the  comparative  scarcity  of  books, 
the  master  dictated  to  them  the  poetry  which  he  in- 
tended them  to  learn  by  heart,  and  they  repeated  it 
after  him. 

The  Kulix  of  Douris  gives  an  interesting  picture  of 
either  a  reading  or  a  repetition  lesson.^  On  a  high- 
backed  chair  sits  an  elderly  master,  holding  a  roll  in 
his  hand.  On  it  is  inscribed  what  is  clearly  meant  to 
be  an  hexameter  line  from  some  epic  poet,  but  Douris 
was  not  very  well  educated,  and  so  the  line  is  misspelt 
and  will  not  scan.  In  front  of  the  master  stands  a  boy, 
behind  whom  sits  an  elderly  man  who  is  probably,  as  in 
the  writing  scene,  a  paidagogos.  The  master  may  be 
dictating  the  poem  while  the  boy  learns  it  by  heart  after 
him,  or  he  may  be  hearing  him  say  it.  But  very 
possibly  the  scene  represents  a  reading-lesson.  The 
attitudes  of  boy  and  master  are  not  very  convenient,  if 
both  are  reading  out  of  the  same  book  ;  but  this  was 
unavoidable,  for,  owing  to  the  canons  of  vase-painting, 
the  figures  could  only  be  full-faced  or  in  profile,  and 
the  front  of  the  manuscript  had  to  be  turned  in  such  a 
way  as  to  be  legible. 

On  the  walls  of  the  school  hang  a  manuscript  rolled 
up  and  tied  with  a  string,  and  an  ornamental  basket. 
These  baskets  were  used  as  bookcases,  to  hold  the 
manuscript  rolls.  They  may  sometimes  be  seen  on 
vases  suspended  over  the  heads  of  reading  figures,  as  in 
the  British  Museum  vase,^  which  represents  a  woman, 
reading  a  scroll.  The  paidagogos,  we  may  notice,  is 
revealing  his  humble  origin  by  crossing  his  feet,  a 
serious  offence  against  good  manners  in  Hellas. 

"When    the    boys    knew   their    letters    and   were 

1  See  Illustr.  Plate  I.  b.  2  Case  E  190. 


CHAP.  Ill        PRIMARY  EDUCATION  93 

beginning  to  understand  what  was  written,  the  masters 
put  beside  them  on  the  benches  the  works  of  good  poets 
for  them  to  read,  and  made  them  learn  them  by  heart. 
They  chose  for  this  purpose  poets  that  contained  many 
moral  precepts,  and  narratives  and  praises  of  the  heroes 
of  old,  in  order  that  the  boy  might  admire  them  and 
imitate  them  and  desire  to  become  such  a  man  himself"  ^ 
It  is  noteworthy  that  Hellenic  boys  began  at  once 
with  the  very  best  literature  to  be  found  in  their 
language  :  there  was  no  preliminary  course  of  childish 
tales.  Grammar,  when  invented,  was  taught  at  a  later 
stage  :  the  boys  plunged  straight  into  literature. 

The  schoolmasters  at  Athens  differed  as  to  which 
was  the  best  way  of  introducing  boys  to  their  national 
literature.  The  great  majority  held  that  a  properly 
educated  boy  ought  to  be  saturated  in  all  poetry,  comic 
and  serious,  hearing  much  of  it  in  the  reading  class,  and 
learning  much  of  it — in  fact,  whole  poets — by  heart.^ 
A  minority  would  pick  out  the  leading  passages,^  the 
**  purple  patches,"  and  certain  whole  speeches,*  and  put 
them  together  and  have  them  committed  to  memory. 
Plato  argued  in  favour  of  expurgated  editions  of  passages 
carefully  selected  according  to  a  very  strict  standard, 
since  much  in  literature  was  good  and  much  bad.^ 

Homer,  of  course,  played  the  largest  part  in  these 
literary  studies  ;  from  early  times  "  he  was  given  an 
honourable  place  in  the  teaching  of  the  young."  ^     Vast 

1  Plato,  Protag.  325  E.  2  piato,  Laws,  811. 

^  TCI  Ke(pa\dta — a  phrase  used  in  later  times  for  "commonplaces,"  "topics," 
which  suggests  that  these  selections  were  of  that  sort. 

^  As  the  great  speeches  are  picked  out  from  Shakespeare  for  "  repetition " 
nowadays. 

^  Plato,  Laws,  802,  811. 

^  Isokrates  {Paneg.  74  a).  He  says  the  object  was  to  make  the  boys  hate  the 
barbarians  ;  as,  e.g.,  English  boys  might  learn  Henry  V.  in  order  to  dislike  the 
French  ! 


94  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

quantities  of  the  Iliad  and  Odyssey  were  learnt  by 
heart.  Nikeratos,  in  Xenophon,^  says  :  "  My  father, 
wishing  me  to  grow  up  into  a  good  man,  made  me 
learn  all  the  lines  of  Homer  ;  and  now  I  can  repeat  the 
whole  of  the  Iliad  and  Odyssey  from  memory."  Such 
prodigious  feats  were,  no  doubt,  assisted  by  the  rhap- 
sodes, who  could  be  heard  at  Athens  declaiming  Homer 
"  nearly  every  day."  ^  The  Hellenes  did  not  let  their 
greatest  poet  lie  neglected,  to  be  "  revived "  at  long 
intervals.  Homer  was  supposed  to  teach  everything, 
especially  soldiering  and  good  morals.  "  I  suppose  you 
know,"  continues  Nikeratos,^  "  that  Homer,  the  wisest 
of  men,  has  written  about  all  human  matters.  So  who- 
ever of  you  wishes  to  excel  as  a  householder  or  public 
speaker  or  general,  or  desires  to  become  like  Achilles 
or  Aias  or  Nestor  or  Odusseus,  let  him  come  to  me." 
Then  he  proceeds  to  show  how,  for  example,  the  poet 
gives  full  directions  about  the  proper  way  to  drive  a 
chariot  in  a  race.  Aristophanes^  makes  the  shade  of 
Aeschylus  say,  "  Whence  did  divine  Homer  win  his 
honour  and  renown,  save  from  this,  that  he  taught  drill, 
courage,  the  arming  of  troops  }  Many  a  man  of  valour 
he  trained,  and  our  own  dead  hero,  Lamachos.  I  took 
my  print  from  him,  and  represented  many  deeds  of 
valour  done  by  a  Patroklos  or  lion-hearted  Teukros,  to 
rouse  my  countrymen  to  model  themselves  upon  such 
men,  when  they  heard  the  trumpet  sound." 

The  great  poet  does  not  seem  to  have  been  taught 
pedantically  ;  the  attention  of  the  boys  was  not  con- 
centrated simply  on  the  difficulties  of  the  Homeric 
vocabulary.  In  fact,  probably  they  were  little  troubled 
with  such  points  ;  the  sense,  the  rhythm,  and  the  beauty 

*  Xen.  Banquet^  iii.  5.  2  /^^-j 

'  /^/W.  iv.  6.  4  Aristoph.  Frogs,  1035. 


CHAP.  Ill        PRIMARY  EDUCATION  95 

of  the  original  do  not  depend  upon  an  exact  under- 
standing of  every  word,  as  many  a  modern  reader  has 
discovered.  In  a  fragment  of  Aristophanes,^  a  father 
asks  his  son  the  meaning  of  some  hard  words  in  Homer, 
such  as  afjbivrjva  Kaprjva  and  Kopvfi^a  ;  the  son  is  quite 
unable  to  translate  them,  at  any  rate  when  separated 
from  their  context,  and  can  only  retort  by  asking  his 
father  to  interpret  some  archaic  phrases  in  Solon's  laws. 
A  later  comic  poet  ^  introduced  a  cook  who  insisted  on 
using  Homeric  language,  just  as  a  modern  ^^^  writes 
his  menu  m  French;  the  man  who  has  hired  him  is 
ludicrously  unable  to  understand  his  phrases,  and  has  to 
go  in  search  of  a  commentary. 

Explanations  and  interpretations  of  supposed  moral 
allegories  in  Homer,  and  lessons  drawn  from  a  close 
study  of  his  characters,  were  very  popular  in  Hellas, 
and  no  doubt  figured  in  the  schools. 

If  Homer  occupied  the  first  place  in  literary  educa- 
tion, other  leading  authors  were  not  neglected.  All 
the  great  poets  were  made  useful.  "  Orpheus  taught 
ceremonial  rites  and  abstinence  from  bloodshed,  and 
Mousaios  medicine  and  oracles,  and  Hesiod  the  tillage 
of  land,  the  seasons  of  fruits  and  ploughing."  ^  Hesiod 
probably  served  more  as  a  theological  handbook  than  as 
a  manual  of  agriculture  ;  the  moral  precepts  to  Perses 
in  the  Works  and  Days  probably  also  found  favour 
with  schoolmasters.  The  fourth-century  comic  poet 
Alexis  gives  an  interesting  catalogue  of  a  school 
library.*  Besides  Orpheus,  Hesiod,  and  Homer,  who 
have  been  mentioned  already,  there  are  Epicharmos, 
Choirilos,  the  author  of  an  epic  poem  on  the  Persian 
war,  and  what  is  called  vaguely  "  tragedy,"  probably 

^  From  the  Banqueters.  ^  Straton  (in  Athen.  382,  383). 

2  Aristoph.  Frogs^  1032.  ^  Athen.  164. 


96  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

meaning  a  selection  from  the  great  tragedians.  We  can 
see  from  Plato's  attacks  that  Aeschylus  and  Euripides 
must  have  been  important  in  the  schools,  and  we  know 
that  Athenian  gentlemen  were  expected  to  be  able  to 
recite  them  at  dinner-parties,  and  must  therefore  have 
learnt  them  by  heart.  The  vague  words  "  tragedy " 
and  "  comedy  "  are  similarly  used  of  the  recitations  of 
the  boys  at  Teos.  Various  editions  of  moral  precepts 
were  also  popular.  Among  these  were  The  Precepts 
of  Cheiron^  or  Cheironeia,  supposed  to  have  been  given 
by  the  wise  Centaur  to  his  pupil  Achilles  and  put 
into  verse  by  Hesiod  ;  on  a  vase  at  Berlin  three  boys 
are  seen  reading  this  work  with  apparent  interest. 
The  extant  lines  of  Theognis  are  often  supposed  to 
represent  a  school  edition  of  the  poet's  works,  con- 
taining the  more  improving  portions.  The  lyric  poets 
were  taught  at  the  lyre-school,  and  I  shall  discuss  them 
later. 

Alexis  also  mentions  "  all  sorts  of  prose  works  "  in 
the  school  library.  The  only  one  of  these  to  which  he 
gives  a  more  definite  name  is  a  cookery-book  by  Simos. 
But  that  is  only  introduced  for  the  sake  of  a  joke  ;  such 
a  work  would  not,  of  course,  figure  in  an  Athenian 
school.  Aesop  may  have  been  a  prose  work  read  in 
schools  ;  it  was  considered  the  sign  of  an  ignoramus 
"  not  to  have  thumbed  Aesop,"  or  to  be  able  to  quote 
him.^  Such  moral  works  as  Prodikos'  Choice  of 
Herakles  were  probably  popular  in  schools.  The 
case  of  Lusis  in  Plato  suggests  that  some  of  the  old 
nature-philosophers  may  have  been  read.  No  doubt 
the  school  library  varied  according  to  the  taste  of  the 
master,  and  his  freedom  of  choice  may  have  led  to  some 
curious  selections.     But  on  the  whole  prose  works  very 

*  Aristoph.  Birds,  471  j  Wasps,  1446.  1401. 


CHAP.  Ill        PRIMARY  EDUCATION 


97 


rarely  figured  in  the  elementary  schools,  partly  because 
they  were  usually  too  technical,  still  more  because  the 
artistic  and  literary  sense  of  the  Hellenes  regarded 
poetry,  if  only  because  of  its  greater  beauty  and  its 
imaginative  value,  as  better  for  educational  purposes 
than  prose. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  when  boys  recited 
Homer  or  Aeschylus  or  Euripides,  they  acted  them, 
delivering  even  the  narrative  with  a  great  deal  of 
gesture,  and  dramatising  the  speeches  as  fully  as  they 
could.  The  almost  daily  recitations  of  the  rhapsodes, 
and  the  frequent  dramatic  performances  in  the  theatres, 
gave  them  plenty  of  examples  of  the  way  to  act.  The 
Hellenes  were  extremely  sensitive  and  sympathetic  : 
they  were  a  nation  of  actors.  The  rhapsode  Ion  tells 
Plato  that,  when  he  recited  Homer,  his  eyes  watered 
and  his  hair  stood  on  end.  This  may  give  the  modern 
reader  some  idea  of  what  his  repetition-lesson  meant  to 
a  boy  at  Athens.  More  may  be  gathered  from  Plato's 
vehement  denunciations  of  dramatisation  in  poetry 
intended  for  use  in  schools  ;  he  believed  that  this  con- 
tinuous acting  exerted  an  evil  influence  upon  character. 
But  this  question  will  be  discussed  elsewhere. 

The  schoolrooms  were  used  as  the  scene  of  lectures, 
to  which  grown-up  men  were  invited  ;  probably  the 
lectures  would  be  given  to  the  boys  at  a  different  time. 
The  wandering  teacher,  Hippias  of  Elis,  meeting 
Sokrates  one  day,  invited  him  to  such  a  lecture,  which, 
from  its  subject,  was  clearly  meant  mainly  for  the 
young.^  After  the  fall  of  Troy,  according  to  the  story 
which  Hippias  invented  for  the  occasion,  Neoptolemos 
asked  the  wise  old  Nestor  what  was  good  and  honour- 
able conduct  and  what  manner  of  life  would  cause  a 

1   Plato,  Hipp.  Maj.  286  b. 

H 


98  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

young  man  to  win  renown.  Given  this  convenient 
opening,  Nestor  replied  by  suggesting  many  excellent 
rules  of  conduct.  Hippias  had  delivered  this  lecture  at 
Sparta,  where  it  had  won  great  applause.  He  now 
proposes,  he  says,  "to  deliver  it  the  day  after  to- 
morrow in  the  schoolroom  of  Pheidostratos,  and  to 
impart  much  other  valuable  information  at  the  same 
time,  at  the  request  of  Eudikos  son  of  Apemantos. 
Mind  you  come  and  bring  any  friends  who  will  be 
capable  of  appreciating  what  I  say.''  No  doubt  it  was 
a  very  excellent  little  sermon  on  the  duties  of  life, 
closely  analogous  to  Prodikos'  famous  Choice  of 
Herakles^  and  most  improving  for  the  pupils  of 
Pheidostratos,  if  they  were  allowed  to  attend. 

One  charming  picture  of  two  Athenian  school 
friends,^  in  their  sleeveless  tunics,  is  extant.  "  I  saw 
you,  Sokrates,"  says  a  guest  at  a  dinner-party,  **  when 
you  and  Kritoboulos  at  the  School  of  Letters  were  both 
looking  for  something  in  the  same  book,  putting  your 
head  against  his,  and  your  bare  shoulder  against  his 
shoulder." 

It  is  also  recorded  that  the  Athenians  were  great 
hands  at  nicknames  :  ^  it  may  be  inferred  that  this 
peculiarity  extended  also  to  their  schoolboys. 

A  vivid  picture  of  school  life  has  recently  come  to 
light  in  the  third  Mime  of  Herondas.  It  belongs  to 
the  Alexandrian  period  in  point  of  date,  but  many  of 
its  details  will,  no  doubt,  suit  the  Athenian  schools  just 
as  well ;  it  is,  however,  quite  inconceivable  that  gags 
and  fetters  were  used  as  punishments  at  Athens  in  the 
schools. 

A    mother,    Metrotim6,    brings    her    truant    boy, 

^  Xen.  Banquet^  iv.  27.     School  friendships  are  also  mentioned  in  Aristot.  Eth. 
viii.  12  J  Aristoph.  Clouds,  1006.  3  Athen,  242  d. 


CHAP.  Ill        PRIMARY  EDUCATION  99 

Kottalos,  to  his  schoolmaster  Lampriskos  to  receive  a 

flogging- 

Metrotime.  Flog  him,  Lampriskos,^ 

Across  the  shoulders,  till  his  wicked  soul 
Is  all  but  out  of  him.     He's  spent  my  all 
In  playing  odd  and  even  :  knucklebones 
Are  nothing  to  him.     Why,  he  hardly  knows 
The  door  o'  the  Letter  School.     And  yet  the  thirtieth 
Comes  round  and  I  must  pay — tears  no  excuse. 
His  writing-tablet,  which  I  take  the  trouble 
To  wax  anew  each  month,  lies  unregarded 
r  the  corner.     If  by  chance  he  deigns  to  touch  it. 
He  scowls  like  Hades,  then  puts  nothing  right 
But  smears  it  out  and  out.     He  doesn't  know 
A  letter,  till  you  scream  it  twenty  times. 
The  other  day  his  father  made  him  spell 
Maron  ;  the  rascal  made  it  Simon  ;  dolt 
I  thought  myself  to  send  him  to  a  school  : 
Ass-tending  is  his  trade.     Another  time 
We  set  him  to  recite  some  childish  piece  ; 
He  sifts  it  out  like  water  through  a  crack, 
"  Apollo,"  pause,  then  "  hunter." 

The  poor  mother  goes  on  to  say  that  it  is  useless  to 

[scold  the  boy  ;  for,  if  she  does,  he  promptly  runs  away 

from  home  to  sponge  upon  his  grandmother,  or  sits  up 

on  the  roof  out  of  the  way,  like  an  ape,  breaking  the 

tiles,  which  is  expensive  for  his  parents. 

Yet  he  knows  c^ 

The  seventh  and  the  twentieth  of  the  month,  J*''^ 

Whole  holidays,  as  if  he  read  the  stars.  **  "^ 

He  lies  awake  o'  nights  adreaming  of  them. 
But,  so  may  yonder  Muses  prosper  you, 

Give  him  in  stripes  no  less  than 

Lampriskos.  Right  you  are. 

Here,  Euthias,  Kokkalos,  and  Phillos,  hoist  him 
I0|i9  Upon  your  backs.^     I  like  your  goings  on, 

j|«  ^  The  translation  is  free,  and  I  omit  a  good  deal  that  is  less  relevant. 

2  For  a  picture  of  such  a  flogging  see  p.  599  of  Bury's  Roman  Empire. 


loo  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

My  boy.     I'll  teach  you  manners.     Where's  my  strap, 
The  stinging  cow's-tail  ! 

KoTTALos.  By  the  Muses,  Sir, 

Not  with  the  stinger. 

Lamp.  Then  you  shouldn't  be 

So  naughty. 

KoTT.  O,  how  many  will  you  give  me  ? 

Lamp.  Your  mother  fixes  that. 

KoTT.  How  many,  mother  ? 

Metr.  As  many  as  your  wicked  hide  can  bear. 

KoTT.  Stop,  that's  enough,  stop. 

Lamp.  You  should  stop  your  ways. 

KoTT.  ril  never  do  it  more,  I  promise  you. 

Lamp.  Don't  talk  so  much,  or  else  I'll  bring  a  gag. 

KoTT.  I  won't  talk,  only  do  not  kill  me,  please. 

Lamp.  Let  him  down,  boys. 

Metr.  No,  leather  him  till  sunset. 

Lamp.  Why,  he's  as  mottled  as  a  water-snake. 

Metr.  Well,  when  he's  done  his  reading,  good  or  bad, 
Give  him  a  trifle  more,  say  twenty  strokes. 

KoTT.  Yah  ! 

Metr.  I'll  go  home  and  get  a  pair  of  fetters. 

Our  Lady  Muses,  whom  he  scorned,  shall  see 
Their  scorner  hobble  here  with  shackled  feet. 

The  exact  age  at  which  arithmetic  was  taught  to 
boys  at  Athens  involves  a  somewhat  complicated  inquiry. 
The  arrangements  which  Plato  makes  in  the  Republic 
and  Laws  defer  this  subject  till  the  age  of  sixteen.  In 
the  Laws^  he  says:  "It  remains  to  discuss,  first  the 
question  of  Letters,  and  secondly  that  of  the  Lyre  and 
practical  arithmetic — by  which  I  mean  so  much  as  is 
necessary  for  purposes  of  war  and  household  manage- 
ment and  the  work  of  government."  His  citizens  will 
also  require,  he  thinks,  enough  astronomy  to  make  the 
calendar  intelligible  to  them.  In  this  passage  he  dis- 
tinctly couples   practical  arithmetic    with   music  ;  and 

1  Plato,  Laivsy  809  c. 


CHAP.  Ill        PRIMARY  EDUCATION  loi 

when  he  proceeds  to  detail,  he  makes  the  study  of  the 
lyre  last  from  thirteen  to  sixteen,  and  then  deals  with 
arithmetic,  the  weights  and  measures,  and  the  astrono- 
mical calendar,  studies  which  terminate  with  the  seven- 
teenth year.  This  course  is  designed  for  all  the  free 
boys  in  his  State  :  it  is  to  be  noticed  that  it  is  eminently 
practical,  elementary,  and  concrete.  In  the  Republic 
he  is  educating  a  few  picked  boys  :  before  they  are 
eighteen  they  are  to  have  gone  through  a  course  of 
abstract  and  theoretical  mathematics,  the  Theory  of 
Numbers,  Plane  and  Solid  Geometry,  Kinetics  and 
Harmonics.  Thus  he  mentions  two  sorts  of  mathe- 
matics, the  one  practical  and  concrete,  called  by  the 
Hellenes  XoytarTCKi],^  whose  object  is  mainly  mercantile, 
and  the  other  theoretical  and  abstract,  which  they  called 
dpi6fir]TLKrj.  Both  sorts  are  to  be  learned  in  the  period 
next  before  the  eighteenth  year. 

But  it  must  not  be  assumed  that  this  was  the  case 
at  Athens.  The  philosopher  is  dealing  with  an  ideal 
State,  where  education  can  be  arranged  in  the  theoreti- 
cally best  way,  not  with  the  real  Athens,  where  the  boy 
might  be  called  away  to  the  counting-house  or  the 
farm  at  any  moment,  and  many  did  not  stay  at  school 
after  they  had  once  learned  to  read  and  write.  More- 
over Plato,  as  a  good  Pythagorean,  saw  a  peculiar 
appropriateness  in  making  numbers  follow  music,  and 
his  Dorian  sympathies  made  him  divide  up  education 
into  clearly  marked  periods,  in  each  of  which  only  one 
subject  was  taught.  This  arrangement,  I  have  already 
shown,  did  not  find  favour  at  Athens. 

His  system  must,  then,  be  received  with  caution. 

^  The  distinction  between  XoynrriKi^,  reckoning  up  and  comparing  numbers, 
chiefly  in  bills  and  the  like,  practical  arithmetic,  and  dpidfirp-iKifi,  theory  of  numbers, 
is  noted  in  Plato,  Gorg.  45 1  b. 


I02  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

It  is  inherently  far  more  probable  that  the  simpler, 
practical  arithmetic  would  be  taught  at  the  elementary 
schools  of  letters,  which  all  citizens,  including  future 
tradesmen  and  artisans,  attended,  not  at  some  later 
date  in  a  separate  school.  But  can  any  evidence  be 
found  for  such  an  arrangement  ?  Yes,  Plato  himself 
in  the  Laws  ^  declares  that  the  future  builder  ought  to 
play  with  toy  bricks  and  learn  weights  and  measure- 
ments when  he  is  a  child.  His  builder,  at  any  rate, 
cannot  wait  to  learn  arithmetic  till  he  is  sixteen. 
Then,  in  the  same  work,  he  quotes  the  instance  of 
Egypt,  where  "  a  very  large  number  of  children  learn 
practical  arithmetic  simultaneously  with  tlieir  letters^'' 
and  he  goes  on  to  commend  the  methods  by  which  it 
was  taught.  Now  Egypt  in  the  Laws  is  represented 
as  the  home  of  ideal  education,  a  sort  of  Utopia. 
Again,  in  Plato  ^  Protagoras  blames  his  brother  Sophists 
for  "  leading  their  pupils  back,  much  against  their  wish, 
and  casting  them  again  into  the  sciences  from  which 
they  have  escaped,  practical  arithmetic  and  astronomy 
and  geometry  and  music."  How  could  the  Sophists^ 
be  described  as  "leading  them  back  and  casting  them 
again "  into  studies  from  which  they  had  escaped  ? 
Where  had  they  learnt  these  subjects  before  they  were 
fourteen.?  It  could  only  have  been  at  school.  But 
what  the  Sophists  taught  must  have  been  new  to  the 
boys,  or  they  would  not  have  paid  to  learn  it.  It  was 
new,  because  the  Sophists  taught  the  advanced  and 
theoretical  stages,  which  appear  in  the  Republic,  and  the 
elementary  schoolmasters  taught  the  simpler  and  con- 
crete elements  of  arithmetic,  weights  and  measures, 
and  the  calendar,  described  in  the  Laws,  which  were 

Plato,  Laws^  643  b.c.  2  pi^to,  Protag.  3180. 

'  So  Theodoros  in  the  Thealtetos. 


CHAP.  Ill        PRIMARY  EDUCATION  103 

necessary  to  every  Athenian  citizen.  From  all  this 
it  may  be  assumed  that  the  Athenian  boys,  like  Plato's 
Egyptian  boys,  learnt  simple  arithmetic,  weights  and 
measures,  and  perhaps  the  calendar,  "  simultaneously 
with  their  letters." 

Now  there  are  two  passages  in  Xenophon  which 
seem  to  suit  this  view.  They  are  not  conclusive  in 
themselves,  but  they  give  a  valuable  hint.  In  the  first  ^ 
it  is  stated  that  any  one  who  knows  his  letters  could 
say  how  many  letters  there  are  in  "Sokrates,"  and  in 
what  order  they  occur.  In  the  second,^  in  the  course 
of  an  argument,  two  illustrations  are  used,  in  close 
connection  with  one  another.  The  passage  runs  : — 
"  Take  the  case  of  letters.  Suppose  some  one  asks 
you  how  many  letters  there  are  in  *Sokrates,'  and 
which  are  they  .f*  ...  Or  take  the  case  of  Numbers. 
Suppose  some  one  asks  what  is  twice  ^n^  }  "  These  two 
quotations  certainly  make  simple  counting  a  part  of 
learning  letters,  with  which  study  the  second  passage 
also  closely  connects  the  multiplication  table.  It  would 
seem  that  it  was  part  of  a  spelling  lesson  to  answer  such 
questions  as  "  How  many  letters  in  '  Sokrates ' .? " 
Answer,  "  Eight.'*  "  Where  does  R  come }  "  Answer, 
"  Fourth."  It  may  be  noticed  also  that  the  symbols  of 
the  numerals  in  ancient  Hellas  were,  with  one  or  two 
exceptions,  identical  with  the  current  alphabet.  The 
games  with  cubic  dice  and  knucklebones,  to  which  the 
boys  were  much  addicted,  must  also  have  needed  some 
arithmetical  skill.  The  natural  conclusion  is  that 
simple  arithmetic,  with,  probably,  the  weights  and 
measures,  and  the  outlines  of  the  calendar,  were  taught 
by  the  letter -master  :  the  practice  of  music  by  the 
music -master  :     while    the    theory    of    numbers,    of 

^  Xen.  Econ.  viii.  14.  '^  Xen.  Mem.  iv.  4.  7. 


SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS 


PART  I 


104 

astronomy,  and  of  music  were  taught  by  the  Sophists 
to  fieipoLKia. 

Simple  counting  was  done  on  the  fingers.  "  Reckon 
on  your  fingers,'*  says  a  character  in  Aristophanes,^ 
**  not  with  pebbles."  A  common  word  for  counting 
was  irefjLTrd^ecvy  "to  reckon  on  the  five  fingers"  ;  the 
division  of  the  month  into  three  periods  of  ten  days 
can  be  traced  to  the  same  custom.  But  by  various 
devices    it   was   possible   to    count   up   to    very    large 


Fives 

0 

000 

0 

GO 

0 

000 

Thousands 


Hundreds 


Tens 


Units 


numbers  on  the  fingers.  Pebbles  were  also  employed 
to  assist  in  arithmetic.  In  the  case  of  complicated 
accounts  a  reckoning  board  (d^aKo^  or  d^a^)  was  used, 
on  which  the  pebbles  varied  in  value  according  to  their 
position.  Such  boards  go  back  to  early  days  at  Athens, 
for  Solon  compared  the  life  of  a  courtier  to  a  pebble 
upon  them,  since  he  was  now  worth  much  and  now 
little.^  A  character  in  a  fourth-century  comedy  ^  sends 
for  an  abacus  and  pebbles,  in  order  that  he  may  do  his 
accounts.      The    pebbles   were    arranged    in    grooves. 


^  Aristoph.  fVasps^  656. 


[n  Diogenes  Laertius,  i.  2.  10. 


Alexis  (in  Athen.  117  e). 


i 


CHAP.  Ill        PRIMARY  EDUCATION  105 

being  worth  one  or  ten  or  a  hundred  and  so  forth, 
according  to  the  groove  in  which  they  were  placed. 
If  they  were  put  on  the  left-hand  side  of  the  board, 
their  value  was  multiplied  by  five.^  The  various 
games  of  ireacroi,  which  somewhat  resembled  chess,  were 
played  on  a  somewhat  similar  board  to  this,  and  these 
chess-boards  were  known  as  a/SaKe^.  Now  the  art  of 
playing  with  ireaaoL  is  more  than  once  coupled  by 
Plato  with  arithmetic  or  mathematics  generally  in  such 
a  way  as  to  show  that  the  game  must  have  involved 
mathematical  skill.^  As  was  usual  in  Athens,  instruc- 
tion went  hand  in  hand  with  amusement,  and,  in 
playing  games,  the  boys  learned  arithmetic  willingly. 
A  similar  value  seems  to  have  attached  to  the  game  of 
knucklebones,  which  the  boys  in  the  Lusis  are  found 
playing  during  their  whole  holiday.  Each  boy  carried 
^  large  basket  of  knucklebones,  and  the  loser  in  each 
game  paid  so  many  of  them  over  to  the  winner.  The 
art  of  playing  this  game  is  also  coupled  with  mathe- 
matics by  Plato ;  ^  so  it  must  at  any  rate  have 
encouraged  the  study  of  arithmetic,  in  his  opinion.  In 
the  school  scene  of  the  British  Museum  amphora,  a 
little  bag,  usually  supposed  to  contain  knucklebones,  is 
figured  :  so  they  may  even  have  been  used  in  schools 
for  teaching  arithmetic.  In  another  school  scene  this 
bag  is  present  with  a  lyre  and  ruler  ;  so  it  was  evidently 
part  of  the  school  furniture. 

After    such    revelations    of    Hellenic    educational 
methods,  it  is  natural   to  suppose  that  the  ingenious 

^  An  abacus  of  a  very  similar  sort  is  still  in  use  in  China  and  Japan,  even  in 
banks.  The  "  pebbles  "  are  pushed  to  and  fro,  not  in  grooves,  but  on  wires  passing 
through  the  middle  of  them.  Calculations  can  be  made  by  this  means  with 
marvellous  rapidity. 

'^  e.g.  Polit.  299  D.     ireTTeLav  ^  ^{/fiiraaav  dpid/xr}TLK-qv. 

'  Plato,  P/iaid.  274. 


io6  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

devices  by  which  the  "  Egyptians,"  ^  according  to  Plato, 
"  make  simple  arithmetic  into  a  game "  for  their 
children,  were  really  used  in  Attica.  One  of  these 
devices^  was  as  follows.  The  master  took,  say,  sixty 
apples.  First  he  divided  them  among  two  boys,  who 
were  made  to  count  their  share,  thirty  each ;  then 
among  three  boys,  twenty  each  ;  then  among  four, 
fifteen  each  ;  then  among  five,  twelve  each  ;  and  then 
among  six,  ten  each.  This  would  teach  the  system  of 
factors.  Then,  again,  a  real  or  imaginary  competition 
in  boxing  or  wrestling  ^  was  arranged,  say  in  a  class  of 
nine.  The  boys  would  work  out,  by  actual  experiment, 
how  many  fights  would  be  necessary,  if  each  boy  had  to 
fight  all  the  others  one  by  one,  and  how  many  if  a 
system  of  rounds  and  byes  was  introduced.  This  might 
even  teach  Permutations  and  Combinations. 

In  another  case  a  number  of  bowls,  some  containing 
mixed  coins,  gold,  silver,  and  bronze,  some  all  of  one  sort, 
would  be  handed  round  the  class.  The  boys  would 
have  to  count  them,  add  and  subtract  them,  and  so  on. 
Thus  they  would  learn  addition  and  subtraction  of 
money,  and  would  also  gain  a  clear  knowledge  of  the 
national  coinage. 

Plato  was  immensely  impressed  with  the  educational 
value  of  Arithmetic.  "Those  who  are  born  with  a 
talent  for  it,"  he  says,  "  are  quick  at  all  learning  ;  while 
even  those  who  are  slow  at  it,  have  their  general  in- 
telligence much  increased  by  studying  it."*  ''No 
branch  of  education  is  so  valuable  a  preparation  for 
household  management  and  politics,  and   all   arts  and 

^  Plato,  Laivs,  819  B. 

"  The  restoration  of  this  process  rests  on  Athen.  671  ;  the  other  two  are  purely 
conjectural. 

^  Suggests  at  once  Hellenic,  not  Egyptian  customs. 
*  Plato,  Rep.  526  B. 


CHAP.  Ill        PRIMARY  EDUCATION  107 

crafts,  sciences  and  professions,  as  arithmetic  ;  best  of 
all,  by  some  divine  art,  it  arouses  the  dull  and  sleepy 
brain,  and  makes  it  studious,  mindful,  and  sharp."  ^ 

The  question  of  the  more  advanced  stages  of  Mathe- 
matics, which  were  taught  to  older  boys,  may  be  left 
for  the  chapter  on  Secondary  Education. 

The  chief  and  often  the  sole  instrument  taught  in 
the  music  school  was  the  seven-stringed  lyre,^  with  a 
large  sounding-board  originally  made  of  a  tortoise's 
shell.^  It  might  be  played  either  with  the  hand  or  else 
with  the  "  plektron "  or  striker  ;  the  boy  Lusis  had 
learnt  to  do  either.*  The  boys  were  also  taught  how 
to  tighten  and  relax  the  strings  by  turning  the  pegs  till 
the  proper  degree  of  tension  was  obtained.  They 
brought  their  own  lyre  with  them  from  home,  the 
paidagogos  carrying  it  behind  his  charge.  This  was  a 
wise  regulation  from  the  master's  point  of  view  ;  for 
the  boys  seem  to  have  usually  ruined  these  instruments 
by  their  early  efforts.^  Like  the  piano,  the  lyre  re- 
quired great  delicacy  of  touch  and  very  agile  fingers, 
and  these  qualities  could  only  be  obtained  by  continual 
practice.^ 

As  would  naturally  be  expected,  individual  tuition 
was  usual  in  the  lyre -school  ;  instrumental  music 
cannot  be  learnt  in  class.  The  vases  make  this  point 
quite  clear.  The  master  has  a  single  boy  seated  in 
front  of  him  ;  both  hold  lyres  in  their  hands,  to  which 
they  are  singing,  the  words  of  the  song  being  some- 

^  Plato,  Lanvs,  747. 

*  Technically  speaking,  this  was  the  \{>pa,  the  Kiddpa  being  a  professional 
istrument  which  was  not  taught  at  school.  ^  iHustr.  Plate  I.  b. 

'*  Plato,  Lusis,  209  B.  On  Inscriptions  there  are  separate  prizes  for  the  two 
methods.  5  Xen,  Econ.  ii.  13. 

^  Ihid.  xvii.  7. 


io8  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

times  represented  by  a  string  of  little  dots.  In 
Plate  IV.,  on  the  left  of  this  group,  a  boy  is  coming  up 
to  take  his  turn,  lyre  in  hand,  while  behind  him  stands 
his  paidagogos,  leaning  on  a  reading-desk  and  following 
his  charge  with  his  eyes.  On  the  right  is  a  boy  just 
taking  up  his  flute-case  and  preparing  to  depart,  while 
another  sits  in  the  corner,  wrapped  in  his  cloak,  waiting 
for  his  turn  to  take  a  lesson.  In  Plate  1 11.,^  the 
master  is  playing  a  barbitos  and  apparently  singing, 
while  the  pupil  plays  the  flute.  On  the  left  is  a  flute- 
master  playing,  and  a  pupil  just  leaving  him,  flute  in 
hand.  Another  pupil,  with  a  lyre,  is  waiting  to  take  a 
lesson  from  the  master  in  the  centre,  and  is  amusing 
himself  meanwhile  by  playing  with  an  animal  that  is 
probably  a  leopard,^  like  that  which  figures  in  Plate 
IV.  Another  pet,  a  dog,  is  howling  in  disgust  at 
the  music.  On  the  right,  a  pupil  with  a  flute  is 
advancing  to  take  a  lesson  from  the  flute-master  in  front 
of  him.  Behind  him  follows  a  young  man,  who  may  be 
an  elder  brother  replacing  the  customary  paidagogos 
for  the  nonce,  or  an  admirer.  In  the  background  sits 
a  small  child,  sucking  his  thumb,  probably  the  younger 
brother  of  one  of  the  pupils,  who  has  come,  in  accord- 
ance with  Aristotle's  advice,  to  look  on,  although  still 
too  young  to  learn. 

As  soon  as  his  pupils  knew  how  to  play,  the  master 
taught  them  the  works  of  the  great  lyric  poets,^  which 
were  not  taught  in  the  school  of  letters.  These  were 
set  to  music,  and  the  boys  sang  them  and  played  the 
accompaniment.  Every  gentleman  at  Athens  was 
expected  to  be  able  to  sing  and  play  in  this  manner 
when  he  went  out  to  a  dinner-party.     The   custom, 

^  Cp.  British  Museum  Vase  E  57,  on  which  a  man  is  leading  a  leopard  by  a  string. 
*  Plato,  Pro  tag.  326  B. 


lo     .2 
<     c 


CHAP.  Ill        PRIMARY  EDUCATION  109 

however,  began  to  become  unfashionable  during  the 
Peloponnesian  War.  When  old  Strepsiades,  in  the 
Clouds^  asked  Pheidippides  to  take  the  lyre  and  sing  a 
song  of  Simonides,  his  new-fashioned  son  replies  that 
playing  the  lyre  was  quite  out  of  date,  and  singing  over 
the  wine  was  only  fit  for  a  slave-woman  at  the  grind- 
stone. Whether  this  state  of  feeling  continued  and 
whether  it  had  a  prejudicial  effect  on  the  music-schools 
cannot  be  decided.  Sometimes  the  guests  brought 
their  boys  to  sing  to  the  company :  in  the  Peace  the 
son  of  the  hero  Lamachos  is  going  to  sing  Homer,  while 
the  coward  Kleonumos'  boy  has  a  song  of  Archilochos 
ready.  Alkaios  and  Anakreon  were  also  favourites  ;  ^ 
the  lyric  portions  of  Kratinos'  comedies,  too,  are 
mentioned  as  sung  at  banquets  :  ^  no  doubt,  the  same 
was  true  of  the  other  great  comedians.  As  the  iambic 
parts  of  Aeschylus  and  Euripides  were  recited  at  the 
dinner-table,  it  is  natural  to  suppose  that  their  songs 
were  also  sung.  The  aged  Dikasts  in  the  Wasps  sing 
the  choruses  from  Phrunichos'  Sidonians.  Old  songs 
like  Lamprokles'  "  Pallas,  dread  sacker  of  cities  "  and 
Kudides'  "  A  cry  that  echoes  afar "  were  popular  in 
earlier  times.  No  doubt  there  was  plenty  of  variety 
in  accordance  with  the  master's  taste.  At  the  music 
school,  too,  may  have  been  taught  the  metrical  version, 
set  to  music,  of  the  Athenian  laws,  which  was  ascribed 
to  Solon,*  and  that  of  the  legislation  of  Charondas, 
which  Athenian  gentlemen  sang  over  their  wine.^ 
Athenian  boys  were  expected  to  know  the  laws  by  the 
time  that  they  were  epheboi,  and  may  well  have  been 
taught  them  in  this  convenient  and  attractive  way  at 

^  Aristoph.  Clouds^  1356.  2  Aristoph.  fragment  oi  Banqueters, 

'  Aristoph.  Knights,  526.  ■*  Plut.  Solon,  iii. 

^  Hermippos  (in  Athen.  619  b). 


no  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

the  lyre -master's.  To  know  how  to  play  the  lyre 
became  the  mark  of  a  liberal  education,  since  every  one 
learned  letters,  but  the  poorest  did  not  enter  the  music- 
school.  *'  He  doesn't  know  the  way  to  play  the  lyre," 
became  a  proverb  for  an  uneducated  person,  who  had 
not  had  so  many  opportunities  in  life  as  his  wealthier 
fellow-citizens.     So,  as  a  plea  for  a  defendant  we  find — 

He  may  have  stolen.     But  acquit  him,  for 
He  doesn't  know  the  way  to  play  the  lyre.^ 

To  this  the  Dikast  retorts  that  he  has  not  learnt  the 
lyre  either,  so  he  must  be  forgiven  if  he  is  so  stupid  as 
to  condemn  the  accused.^ 

At  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century  the  Hellenes 
were  stimulated,  according  to  Aristotle,^  by  their  grow- 
ing wealth  and  importance  to  make  many  educational 
experiments,  especially  in  music.  All  manner  of  musical 
instruments  were  tried  in  the  music-schools,  but  were 
rejected  on  trial,  when  the  moral  effects  could  be  better 
appreciated.  Among  the  instruments  thus  found 
wanting  was  the  flute.  At  one  time  the  flute  became 
so  popular  at  Athens  that  the  majority  of  the  free 
citizens  could  play  it.  But  its  moral  efi^ect  proved  to 
be  unsatisfactory ;  it  was  the  instrument  which  belonged 
to  wild  religious  orgies,  and  it  aroused  that  hysterical 
and  almost  lunatic  excitement*  which  the  Hellenes 
regarded  as  a  useful  medicine,  when  taken  at  long 
intervals  of  time,  for  giving  an  outlet  to  such  feelings 
and  working  them  off  the  system,  in  order  that  a  long 
period  of  calm  might  follow.  But  such  a  medicine  was  .  | 
most  unsuitable  to  be  the  daily  food  of  boys.     The 

1  Aristoph.  fVasps,  959.  2  j^^^  ^g^^  3  Aristot.  Po/.  viii.  6.  11. 

^  For  this  reason  it  was  opposed  to  Dorian  influences  by  Pratinas.  It  was 
excluded  from  the  Pythian  games  (Pausan.  10.  vii.  5).  Pratinas  bids  it  be  content 
to  "  lead  drunk  young  men  in  their  carousals  and  brawls." 


CHAP.  Ill        PRIMARY  EDUCATION  1 1 1 

flute  had  two  other  disadvantages.  It  distorted  the 
face  sufficiently  to  horrify  a  sensitive  Hellene.^  It  also 
prevented  the  use  of  the  voice  :  the  boys  could  not 
sing  to  it,  as  they  sang  to  the  lyre.  So  Athena,  in  the 
old  legend,  had  been  quite  right  in  throwing  the 
instrument  away  in  disgust  :  it  was  only  suitable  for  a 
Phrygian  Satyr,  for  it  made  no  appeal  to  the  intellect, 
but  only  to  the  passions.^ 

This  is  Aristotle's  account.  It  may  be  objected 
that  the  vases  which  represent  scenes  in  the  music- 
schools  show  the  flute  and  the  lyre  being  taught  side 
by  side,  and  apparently  equally  popular.  But  these 
vases  can  mostly  be  traced  more  or  less  certainly  to 
the  first  half  of  the  fifth  century,  and  so  they  bear  out 
Aristotle's  statement.  Moreover,  the  flute  did  not,  of 
course,  die  out  in  Hellas  by  any  means  ;  it  only  became 
an  extra,  instead  of  the  regular  instrument  in  schools. 
The  most  notable  Athenians,  Kallias  and  Kritias  and 
Alkibiades,  are  said  to  have  played  it.^  ,  It  always 
remained  popular  at  Thebes.  But  at  Athens,  in  the 
banquets,  while  the  guests  usually  played  the  lyre 
themselves,  the  flute  was  as  a  rule  only  played  by 
professional  flute-girls,*  although  on  the  vases  the  guests 
are  sometimes  found  performing  on  this  instrument 
also.^  Probably  the  Athenian  attitude  may  be  summed 
up  in  the  **  ancient  proverb  "  :  ^ 

A  flutist's  brains  can  never  stay  : 

He  pufFs  his  flute,  they're  pufi*ed  away. 

^  Telestcs,  in  his  defence  of  the  flute,  could  only  retort  that  Athena,  being  con- 
:mned   to    eternal    spinsterhood,   ought    not    to    be    particular   about    her   looks 
[Athen.  617).  2  Aristot.  Pol.  viii.  6.  11. 

Athen.  184  d.  Plutarch,  however,  says  that  when  Alkibiades'  masters  tried  to 
lake  him  learn  the  flute,  he  refused,  declaring  that  it  was  unfit  for  gentlemen 
Ilk.  ii.  5).  *  Not  a  respected  profession  at  Athens. 

^  Brit.  Mus.  E  495,  64,  71.  «  Athen.  337  f. 


112  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

It  was  usual  to  play  on  two  flutes  at  the  same  time. 
Such  a  pair  has  been  found, ^  together  with  a  lyre,  in  a 
tomb  at  Athens.  The  flutes  are  somewhat  over  a  foot 
in  length,  and  have  five  holes  on  the  upper  and  one 
on  the  lower  side.  Each  has  a  separate  mouthpiece. 
Besides  this,  flute -players  sometimes  wore  a  sort  of 
leathern  muzzle  ^  over  their  mouths  ;  but  this  does  not 
appear  in  the  schools.  The  pair  of  flutes  were  carried 
in  a  double  case,  made  of  some  spotted  skin  ;  it  had  a 
pocket  on  one  side,  to  hold  the  mouthpieces,^  and  a 
cord  attached  by  which  it  could  be  hung  up  when  not 
in  use.  The  two  flutes  seem  to  have  corresponded  to 
treble  and  bass,  "  male  "  and  "  female  "  as  Herodotos 
calls  them.  The  treble  was  on  the  right,  the  bass  on 
the  left.*  Flutes  could  be  set  to  difl^erent  harmonies, 
apparently  by  some  rearrangement  of  stops.  In  the 
case  of  the  flute,  as  in  the  case  of  the  lyre,  individual 
tuition  was  the  rule.  First  the  master  played  an  air, 
and  then  the  boy  had  to  repeat  it,  while  the  master 
criticised.^  Or  the  master  played  the  air  on  a  barbitos 
and  sang  to  it,  while  the  pupil  accompanied  him  on  the 
flute.  This  method  had  two  advantages.  The  master 
was  able  to  play  at  the  same  time  as  the  boy,  and  give 
him  instruction  while  playing,  which  the  flute  prevented 
him  from  doing.  The  song,  too,  which  he  was  enabled 
to  sing  obviated  one  of  the  chief  disadvantages  of  the 
flute :  for  the  Hellenes  objected  to  instrumental  music 
as  meaningless,  unless  it  was  accompanied  by  words. 

There  seems  to  have  been  music-schools  scattered 
throughout  Attica,  besides  those  established  in  the 
capital :  the  description  of  the  village  boys  marching  off 

^  Smith's  Dictionary  of  Antiquities.  ^  (pop^ela.     It  belonged  to  professionals. 

*  yXuaa-oKOfietov. 
*  See  the  "  Inscription  "  of  the  Andria  and  other  plays  of  Terence. 
5  See  Illustr.  Plate  II, 


CHAP.  Ill        PRIMARY  EDUCATION 


"3 


to  the  lyre-master's  in  a  snow-storm  without  overcoats 
has  already  been  quoted.  The  names  of  a  few  masters 
are  extant.  Lampros  taught  Sophocles  the  poet.^ 
Sokrates^  recommends  Nikias  to  send  his  son  to  the 
famous  Damon,  who  "  is  not  merely  a  first-class  musician, 
but  also  just  the  man  to  be  with  boys  like  this."  But 
whether  these  musicians  kept  regular  schools  cannot  be 
ascertained.  Sokrates  himself  in  his  later  years  attended 
the  music-school  of  Konnos,  and  learned  among  the 
boys.  "  I  am  disgracing  Konnos  the  music-master, " 
he  says,  "  who  is  still  teaching  me  to  play  the  lyre. 
The  boys  who  are  my  schoolfellows  laugh  at  me  and 
call  Konnos  the  *  Greybeard  teacher.' "  ^  The  same 
Konnos  adopted  the  common  but  iniquitous  cuetom 
of  bestowing  his  chief  attention  on  his  more  promising 
pupils,  while  neglecting  the  backward.*  Aristophanes 
caricatures  Kleon's  school-days  as  follows  :  *'  The  boys 
who  went  to  school  with  Kleon  say  he  would  often  set 
his  lyre  to  the  Dorian  ( =  Gift-ian)  harmony  alone. 
Finally,  the  lyre-master  lost  his  temper  and  told  ^he 
paidagogos  to  take  him  away,  saying,  "  This  boy  can't 
learn  anything  but  the  Briberian  (Dorodokisti)  mode."  ^ 
The  attitude  of  the  philosophers  towards  music  will 
be  discussed  elsewhere.  Plato's  view  may  be  summed 
up  in  the  words  which  he  puts  in  the  mouth  of 
Protagoras  the  Sophist.^  "The  music-master  makes 
rhythm  and  harmony  familiar  to  the  souls  of  the  boys, 
and  they  become  gentler  and  more  refined,  and  having 
more  rhythm  and  harmony  in  them,  they  become  more 
efficient  in  speech  and  in  action.  The  whole  life  of  Man 
stands  in  need  of  good  harmony  and  good  rhythm." 


1  Athen.  20  f. 

*  Plato,  Euthud.  272  c. 

^  Aristoph.  Knights^  987-996. 


*  Plato,  Lachesy  180  d. 

*  Ibid.  295  D. 

«  Plato,  Protag.  326  B. 


I 


1 14  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

Aristotle's  attitude  is  briefly  this.  "  Music  is  neither  a 
necessary  nor  a  useful  accomplishment  in  the  sense  in 
which  Letters  are  useful,  but  it  provides  a  noble  and 
worthy  means  of  occupying  leisure-time.''  ^ 

Aristotle  mentions  that  in  his  day  some  added  draw- 
ing and  painting  to  the  three  parts  of  the  course.^  It 
was  not  universal,  like  these,  and  it  does  not  seem  to 
have  started  till  the  fourth  century.  In  the  Republic 
and  Laws  Plato  does  not  attack  and  criticise  it  among 
the  other  educational  subjects  ;  but  it  plays  so  prominent 
a  part  in  the  Republic  that  it  is  obvious  that  the 
philosopher  regarded  it  as  a  dangerous  enemy  to  the 
view's  which  he  wished  to  spread.  It  is  noticeable  that 
the  discussion  of  Art  comes  in  as  an  after-thought,  in 
Book  X.  May  it  not  be  inferred  that  when  Plato 
wrote  the  earlier  books,  drawing  and  painting  were  not 
yet  in  vogue  in  the  schools,  but  they  became  popular 
before  hf^  had  ftnished  his  great  work  } 

In  Periclean  Athens  the  possibilities  of  artistic  train- 
ing had  certainly  existed.  In  the  Frotagoras^  as  an 
instance  in  some  argument,  it  is  suggested  that  the 
lad  Hippokrates  might  "  go  to  this  young  fellow  who 
has  been  in  Athens  of  late,  Zeuxippos  of  Heraklea. 
Every  day  that  he  was  with  him  he  would  improve  as 
an  -artist."  Earlier  in  the  same  dialogue  Sokrates 
remarks  that  his  friend  might  go  to  Polukleitos  or 
Pheidias,  and  pay  to  be  taught  sculpture.*  The  large 
numbers  of  boys  who  became  apprentices  to  the  potters 
at  Athens  must  have  learned  line-drawing  and  designing 
and  painting  from  the  earliest  times.  But  art  probably 
did  not  become  a  usual  part  of  a  liberal,  as  distinct  from 


^  Aristot.  Pol.  viii.  3.  7.  2  m^  yjjj^  ^^ 

3  Plato,  Protag.  318  B.  *  Ibid.  311c. 


I. 


CHAP.  Ill        PRIMARY  EDUCATION  1 1 5 

a  technical,  education  till    the    middle   of  the   fourth 
century. 

This  date  is  fixed  by  a  passage  in  Pliny .^  According 
to  him,  its  introduction  was  due  to  Pamphilos  the 
Macedonian.  At  his  instance,  first  at  Sikuon,  where 
he  lived,  and  afterwards  in  the  rest  of  Hellas,  free  boys 
were  taught  before  everything  painting  on  boxwood, 
and  this  art  was  included  in  the  first  rank  of  the  liberal 
arts.  Now  Pamphilos'  picture  of  the  Herakleidai  is 
mentioned  in  the  Ploutos  of  Aristophanes,  which 
appeared  in  388  B.C.  Apelles,  his  pupil,  began  to 
come  into  prominence  about  350:  Pamphilos  himself 
seems  to  have  lived  on  till  the  close  of  the  century. 
The  introduction  of  painting  into  the  schools  at  Sikuon 
may  therefore  be  dated,  roughly,  about  360  B.C.,  and 
from  there  the  custom  spread  over  Hellas.  By  300 
B.C.  no  doubt  art  had  become  a  regular  part  of  the 
educational  curriculum ;  for  the  philosopher  Teles,^ 
who  probably  lived  about  that  time,  mentions  the 
gymnastic  trainer,  the  letter-master,  the  musician,  and 
the  painter  as  the  four  chief  burdens  of  boys.  A 
trace  of  the  new  art -schools,  with  their  technical 
vocabulary,  is  found  in  the  Laws^  the  work  of  Plato's 
old  age  :^  "paint  in  or  shade  off,"  he  says,  "or  what- 
ever the  artists'  boys  call  it." 

Of  the  methods  used  in  drawing  and  painting  in 
Hellas  little  trace  is  left.  Polugnotos  and  his  con- 
temporaries had  produced  idealised  pictures,  taking 
points  from  many  beautiful  men  and  women  and 
uniting  them  to  make  one  perfect  man  or  woman. 
When  Idealism  gave  way  to  Realism  in  Hellas,  the  change 
affected  painting  also.     The  artists  tried  to  create  a  real 

1  Plin.  H'lit.  Nat.  35.  2  s^ob.  Floril.  98,  p.  535. 

2  Plato,  Lawsy  769  b. 


ii6  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

illusion  in  their  works,  taking  subjects  like  chairs  or 
tables  and  making  the  spectator  believe  them  to  be  real. 
They  were  helped  by  the  developments  of  perspective 
and  foreshortening,  which  were  discovered  at  this  time. 
It  is  against  this  exaggerated  realism  and  the  choice 
of  homely  subjects  that  Plato's  attack  is  directed  :  he 
hates  such  illusions  as  shams. -^  In  the  diatribes  of  the 
Republic  the  possibility  of  idealised  painting  seems 
to  be  forgotten.  Whether  the  boys  in  the  art-schools 
also  suffered  by  this  change  and  were  condemned  to 
draw  chairs  and  tables  only  cannot  be  decided. 

The  pupils,  of  course,  did  not  have  paper  to  draw 
and  paint  upon,  nor  was  canvas  employed.  Ordinarily 
they  used  white  wood,  boxwood  for  preference,  owing 
to  its  smoothness.  Lead  or  charcoal  would  serve  for 
drawing  ;  for  erasures,  instead  of  india-rubber  a  sponge 
was  used.^  They  may,  perhaps,  have  practised  on  their 
wax  tablets.  One  process  was  aKiaypacfyla,  "  shadow- 
drawing,"  which  produced  rough  sketches  in  light  and 
shade  :  these  seem  to  have  been  only  intelligible  when 
considered  from  a  distance.  Plato  regarded  them  with 
distrust,  as  a  sort  of  conjuring.^ 

In  ordinary  painting,  which  might  be  either  water- 
colour  or  encaustic,^  the  first  thing  was  to  sketch  in  the 
outline  (viroypdcliecv,  ireptypacj)')])  ;  the  artist  then  filled 
in  {airepfydt^ea-Oav)  the  picture  with  his  colours,  with 
perpetual  glances,  now  to  the  original,  now  to  the  copy, 
mixing  his  paints  the  while.  Beginners  would,  no  doubt, 
rub  out  (i^akel^cLv)  frequently,  and  paint  in  again. 

1  See  Rep.  x.  596  e,  605  a,  etc.  In  the  Sophist,  235  D,  266  d,  etc.,  Plato  reserves 
his  denunciation  for  ipavTaaTLK'f}  which  creates  illusions  ;  he  almost  approves  of 
ekao-Ti/ciJ.     Idealised  painting  is  hinted  at  in  Rep.  472  d,  484  c. 

*  Aeschylus,  Agamemnony  1329.  ^  Plato,  Theait.  208  i. 

*  The  modern  oil  process  was  not  employed  till  late  on  in  the  Renaissance. 
Fresco  was  common. 


CHAP.  Ill        PRIMARY  EDUCATION  117 

Aristotle,^  in  discussing  artistic  education,  notices 
that  it  gave  boys  a  good  eye  for  appreciating  art,  and 
enabled  them  to  exercise  good  taste  in  buying  furniture, 
pottery,  and  other  household  requisites,  which,  to  judge 
from  the  scanty  relics,  must  have  been  masterpieces  of 
beauty  in  the  house  of  a  cultivated  Athenian.  But  still 
more  important,  it  gave  them  "  an  eye  for  bodily 
beauty "  :  ^  which  suggests  that  the  human  form, 
especially  its  proportions,  formed  the  chief  study  of  the 
art-schools.  Proportion  was  the  essence  of  Hellenic 
art ;  the  great  sculptors,  as  is  well  known,  spent  much 
time  in  drawing  up  a  canon  of  perfect  proportions  for 
the  human  body.  The  boys  may  well  have  used  their 
companions  in  the  palaistrai  for  models,  and  the 
canons  of  physical  proportion  which  they  were  taught 
by  the  art-master  would  serve  to  stimulate  them  with 
a  desire  to  attain  to  such  a  perfection  of  body  by 
their  own  athletic  exercises. 

^  Aristot.  Pol.  viii,  3.  12. 
^  dewprjTLKbv  rod  rrepl  to,  auifiaTa  koWovs. 


CHAPTER  IV 

ATHENS    AND    THE    REST    OF    HELLAS  : 
PHYSICAL    EDUCATION 

It  is  well  known  that  the  Hellenes  attached  an 
enormous  importance  to  physical  exercise.  This  was 
partly,  no  doubt,  due  to  their  intense  appreciation  of 
bodily  beauty,  which  it  was  the  endeavour  of  their 
gymnastic  training  to  produce.  But  it  must  be 
remembered  that  to  be  in  "  good  condition "  was 
essential  to  them.  Any  morning  an  Hellenic  citizen 
might  find  himself  called  upon  to  take  the  field  against 
an  invader,  or  might  be  despatched  to  ravage  an 
enemy's  territory.  Only  the  most  cogent  excuses 
were  accepted.  Plato  ^  has  left  a  vivid  picture  of  a 
rich  man,  who  has  lived  in  idleness  and  luxury,  suddenly 
called  out  to  serve  his  country.  Unhappy  Dives 
marches  along  panting  and  perspiring,  he  is  ill  on 
board  ship,  and  in  battle  when  he  has  to  charge  or 
fight  vigorously,  he  has  no  wind  and  is  in  a  state  of 
hopeless  misery  ;  while  his  poorer  or  wiser  companions, 
who  are  **  lean  and  wiry,  and  have  lived  in  the  open 
air,"  mock  at  him  and  despise  him.  Sokrates  points 
out  to  young  Epigenes,^  who  has  neglected  his  physical 
condition,   what   risks   he   runs.       In    battle,   when    a 

1  Plato,  Rep.  556  B-D.  2  xen.  Mem.  iii.  12.  i. 

118 


CHAP.  IV        PHYSICAL  EDUCATION  119 

retreat  is  sounded,  he  will  be  left  behind  by  his 
companions,  and  be  either  killed  or  taken  prisoner  by 
the  foe  ;  and  the  lot  of  the  captive  was  frequently 
slavery  for  life,  unless  his  friends  ransomed  him.  But 
there  were  also  intellectual  and  moral  risks.  "  Bodily 
debiUty,"  says  Sokrates,  "  frequently  causes  a  loss  of 
memory,  and  low  spirits,  and  a  peevish  temper,  and 
even^  madness,  to  invade  a  man,  so  as  to  make  even 
intellectual  pursuits  impossible."  To  be  a  good  citizen 
and  to  be  a  good  thinker  a  man  must  always  be  in  good 
physical  condition.  It  became  a  duty  to  oneself  and  to 
the  State  "  to  live  in  the  open  air  and  accustom  oneself 
to  manly  toils  and  sweat,  avoiding  the  shade  and 
unmanly  ways  of  life."  ^  By  divine  ordinance,  "  Sweat 
was  the  doorstep  of  manly  virtue,"  as  old  Hesiod  had 
sung.^ 

This  addiction  to  gymnastic  exercises  of  all  kinds 
was  characteristic  of  the  Hellenic  peoples  from  the 
days  of  Homer.  The  original  object  had  been 
symmetrical  development  of  the  body,  health,  speed, 
strength,  and  agility.  But,  as  the  Egyptian  sage 
remarked,  the  Hellenes  were  a  nation  of  children — it  is 
just  that  which  gives  to  them  their  charm  and  interest 
— and  children  usually  and  naturally  care  most  for  the 
body.  Consequently  athletics  were  carried  too  far  : 
they  became  an  end  in  themselves,  instead  of  being 
merely  a  means  of  attaining  physical  activity  and  health. 
The  professional  athlete  became  a  sort  of  spoilt  child, 
fed  at  public  expense,^  courted  by  crowds  of  admirers, 
and  all  the  time  he  was  quite  useless  for  everything 
except  his  own  particular  sort  of  contest,  boxing  or 

^   Plato,  Phaidr.  239  c.  ^  Hesiod,  Works  and  Days,  289. 

^  Solon  reduced  this  endowment  to  500  drachmai  for  an  Olympian  victor,  100  for 
an  Isthmian  (Plut.  Solon,  23). 


I20  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

wrestling  or  the  like.  The  tendency  was  ruinous  :  the 
Hellenes  preferred  to  be  good  gymnasts  rather  than 
good  soldiers.^  The  competitor,  boy  or  man,  who 
entered  for  one  of  the  great  prizes  had  to  live  in 
complete  idleness  from  other  pursuits.^  Such  pro- 
fessionals "  slept  all  the  day  long,  and  if  they  departed 
from  their  prescribed  system  of  training  in  the  very 
slightest  degree,  they  were  seized  with  serious  diseases."^ 
Consequently  they  were  useless  as  soldiers,  since  in 
war  it  is  necessary  to  be  wide  awake,  not  torpid,  and 
to  be  able  to  stand  vicissitudes  of  heat  and  cold,  and 
not  to  be  made  ill  by  changes  of  diet.  Specialisation 
even  led  to  deformity.  The  long-distance  runner 
developed  thick  legs  and  narrow  shoulders,  the  boxer 
broad  shoulders  and  thin  legs.^  It  is  to  this  specialisa- 
tion that  Galen  ^  attributes  the  decline  in  utility  of 
Hellenic  athletics.  Philostratos  even  notes  that  only 
in  the  good  old  days  was  the  health  of  athletes  not 
actually  impaired  by  their  exercises.  In  those  times, 
he  says,  they  grew  old  late,  and  took  part  in  eight  or 
nine  Olympic  contests — retained,  that  is,  their  efficiency 
for  thirty  years  or  more  ;  moreover,  they  were  as  good 
soldiers  as  they  were  athletes.  Later,  these  habits 
changed,  and  athletes  became  averse  to  war,  torpid, 
effeminate,  luxurious  in  their  diet.  The  medical  pro- 
fession took  upon  itself  to  advise  them — a  good  thing 
in  its  way,  but  unsuitable  for  athletes  ;  for  it  told  them 
to  sit  still  after  meals  before  taking  exercise,  and 
introduced   them  to  elaborate  cookery.      Bribery  also 

1  Plut.  S^aest.  Rom.  40.  2  piato,'LflWi,  807  c. 

^  For  this  their  vast  appetites  were  partly  responsible.  Milo  and  Theagenes 
each  ate  a  whole  ox  in  a  single  day  (Athen.  412  f).  Astuanax  the  pankratiast  ate 
what  was  meant  for  nine  guests  {ibid.  413  b). 

*  Xen.  Banquet,  ii.  17. 

^  Galen,  On  Medic,  and  Gym.  §  33  (ed.  Ku'hn.  v.  870). 


w 


1 


41 


CHAP.  IV        PHYSICAL  EDUCATION  121 

came  into  vogue  among  the  professionals  ;  usurers  began 
to  enter  the  training  schools  on  purpose  to  lend  them 
money  for  bribing  their  opponents.^  The  first  recorded 
instance  of  this  was  early  in  the  fourth  century.^ 

Critics  of  this  exaggerated  athleticism  were  not 
wanting,  even  in  the  earliest  times.  The  attack  begins 
with  Xenophanes  of  Kolophon.  In  an  elegiac  poem 
he  writes  :  "  If  a  man  wins  a  victory  at  Olympia 
.  .  .  either  by  speed  of  foot  or  in  the  pentathlon, 
or  by  wrestling,  or  competing  in  painful  boxing, 
or  in  the  dread  contest  called  the  pankration,  his 
countrymen  will  look  upon  him  with  admiration,  and 
he  will  receive  a  front  seat  in  the  games,  and  eat  his 
dinners  at  the  public  cost,  and  be  presented  with  some 
gift  that  he  will  treasure.  All  this  he  will  get,  even  if 
he  only  win  a  horse  race.  Yet  he  is  not  as  worthy  as  I ; 
for  my  wisdom  is  better  than  the  strength  of  men  and 
steeds.  Nay,  this  custom  is  fooHsh,  and  it  is  not  right 
to  honour  strength  more  than  the  excellence  of  wisdom. 
Not  by  good  boxing,  not  by  the  pentathlon,  nor  by 
wrestling,  nor  yet  by  speed  of  foot,  which  is  the  most 
honoured  in  the  contests  of  all  the  feats  of  human 
strength — not  so  would  a  city  be  well  governed.  Small 
joy  would  it  get  from  a  victory  at  Olympia  :  such 
things  do  not  fatten  the  dark  corners  of  a  city." 

Pass  straight  from  this  to  the  works  of  Pindar,  in 
order  to  see  whether  Xenophanes*  attack  was  justified. 
To  Pindar  the  world  holds  nothing  better  than  an 
Olympian  victory.  Be  the  descendant  of  athletes  and 
be  an  athlete  yourself — that  is  the  summit  of  human 
attainment  and  bliss.  His  gods  are  either  athletes 
themselves  or  founders  of  athletic  contests.  A  man's 
true  desires  may  usually  be  best  traced  in  the  conception 

1  Philos.  On  Gymnastics^  54.  2  Pausan.  v.  21.  10. 


122  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

which  he  forms  of  the  future  state :  Pindar's  portrait 
of  Elysium  is  characteristic.  First  the  scenery,  a 
magnificent  description  in  his  best  manner  : 

In  that  Underworld  the  sun  shines  in  his  might 

Through  our  night. 
Round  that  city  through  the  dewy  meadow-ways 

Roses  blaze. 
Through  the  fragrant  shadows,  bright  with  golden  gleams, 

Fruitage  teems.  .  .  . 
Every  flower  of  joyance  blooms  nor  v/ithers  there.^ 

And  in  this  Paradise  how  are  the  shades  of  the  departed 
occupying  themselves  ^  "  Some  take  their  joy  in  horses, 
some  in  gymnasia,  some  in  draughts/'^  That  is  the 
highest  bliss  conceivable,  in  Pindar's  opinion. 

But  Euripides  did  not  agree  with  him.  He  de- 
nounces the  athletic  life  with  much  vigour.^  '*  Of 
countless  ills  in  Hellas,  the  race  of  athletes  is  quite  the 
worst.  .  .  .  They  are  slaves  of  their  jaw  and  worshippers 
of  their  belly.  ...  In  youth  they  go  about  in  splendour, 
the  admiration  of  their  city,  but  when  bitter  old  age 
comes  upon  them,  they  are  cast  aside  like  worn-out 
coats.  I  blame  the  custom  of  the  Hellenes,  who  gather 
together  to  watch  these  men,  honouring  a  useless 
pleasure.^  Who  ever  helped  his  fatherland  by  win- 
ning a  crown  for  wrestling,  or  speed  of  foot,  or  flinging 
the  quoit,  or  giving  a  good  blow  on  the  jaw?  Will 
they  fight  the  foe  with  quoits,  or  smite  their  fists 
through  shields  ?  Garlands  should  be  kept  for  the 
wise  and  good,  and  for  him  who  best  rules  the  city  by 
his  temperance  and  justice,  or  by  his  words  drives  away 
evil  deeds,  preventing  strife  and  sedition.'' 

^  Pind.  T/irenoi,  frag.  i.  2  Fragment  oi  Autolukos. 

'  A  very  bold  attack  on  the  Olympian  games,  which  must  have  caused  a  sensa- 
tion in  the  theatre. 


CHAP.  IV        PHYSICAL  EDUCATION 


123 


In  return  for  this,  the  athlete-loving  populace,  find- 
ing their  voice  in  the  popular  poet  Aristophanes, 
denounced  Euripides  and  his  Sophist  friends  for  empty- 
ing the  gymnasia  and  making  the  boys  desire  only  a 
good  tongue,  instead  of  a  sound  body,  turning  them 
into  pale-faced,  indoor  pedants,  fit  for  nothing  but 
jabbering  nonsense.  The  attitude  of  the  poet  in  the 
Clouds  and  Frogs  is  just  that  of  an  average  schoolboy 
discussing  a  student. 

Plato  has  already  been  quoted  as  an  authority  against 
the  athlete  of  his  day.  In  the  Laws  he  rejects  every 
kind  of  gymnastics  which  is  not  strictly  conducive  to 
military  efficiency,  and,  like  the  Spartans,  condemns  the 
pankration  and  boxing.  Races  in  the  ideal  State  are  to 
be  run  in  full  armour,  and  the  javelin  and  spear  are  to 
replace  the  quoit.  It  is  exactly  the  position  of  some 
moderns,  who  would  substitute  shooting  and  field-days 
for  cricket  and  football.  The  case  against  the  athletes 
may  be  closed  with  Aristotle's  testimony:  he  also  con- 
demns the  specialisation  of  the  trained  professional.^ 

But  these  denunciations  of  athletes  do  not  apply  so 
much  to  Athens  as  to  the  other  States  of  Hellas.  The 
Athenian  Agora  was  full  of  the  statues  of  generals  and 
patriots,  not,  as  was  the  usual  custom,  of  athletes.^ 
The  author  of  the  treatise  on  the  Athenian  constitution,' 
writing  in  the  early  days  of  the  Peloponnesian  War, 
notices  that  the  democracy  had  driven  gymnastics  out 
of  fashion.*  He  writes  as  one  of  the  aristocrats  who, 
like  Pindar  and  his  princely  friends,  cared  mainly  for 
the  body  and  the  outward  beauties  of  life  :  the  democracy 
was  vulgar,  for  it  could  not  spend  all  its  time  in  bodily 

*  Aristot.  Po/.  vii.  16,  13.  2  Lukourg.  a^.  Lm^.  51.    " 

2  [Xen.]  Constit.  of  Athens,  i.  13. 

^  Kar^Xvae  must  mean  this,  as  in  [Andok.]  ag.  Alkibiades,  where  that  gentleman 
is  said  to  be  KaToKitav  ret  yvfivdaca  by  his  bad  example. 


124  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

exercises  and  musical  banquets.  No  doubt  at  that 
period  in  Athens,  as  can  be  seen  in  Aristophanes,  there 
was  a  reaction  in  favour  of  intellectual  pursuits  against 
the  exclusive  athleticism  of  the  preceding  age  :  the  time 
of  the  citizens  in  a  great  democracy  was  also  largely 
monopolised  by  State  duties,  whether  in  the  Assembly 
or  in  the  Law  Courts  or  in  fighting  by  sea  or  land. 
But  athletics  still  remained  quite  sufficiently  popular 
even  at  Athens,  and  athletic  "  shop  "  remained  one  of 
the  chief  topics  of  conversation  at  a  dinner-party.^ 

Gymnastic  exercises  centred  round  two  sorts  of 
buildings  which  are  often  confused,  the  "  gymnasium  " 
and  the  "  palaistra."  The  former  may  be  said  to 
correspond  to  the  whole  series  of  fields  and  buildings 
intended  for  games,  which  surround  a  modern  public 
school,  including  football  and  cricket  grounds,  running 
track  and  jumping  pit,  fives  courts,  and  so  forth.  The 
"  palaistra  "  often  resembled  little  more  than  the  play- 
ground of  a  village  school  :  it  only  demanded  a  sandy 
floor,  and  sufficient  privacy  to  protect  the  exercises  from 
intrusion :  such  buildings  could  be  run  up  at  private 
expense  in  the  smallest  villages,  and  were  often  attached 
to  private  houses.  A  "  gymnasiuhi/'  on  the  other 
hand,  must  have  cost  a  vast  sum  to  erect  :  even  a  great 
capital  like  Athens  only  possessed  three  in  the  fourth 
century  ;  small  towns  must  have  been  unable  to  affiDrd 
them  at  all.  But  the  gymnasia  were  public  buildings, 
open  to  all ;  they  were  always  full  of  citizens  of  all 
ages,  practising  or  watching  others  practise  ;  they  were 
a  fashionable  place  of  resort,  where  Sophists  lectured  in 
the  big  halls,  and  philosophers  taught  in  the  shady 
gardens.     For  the  trainer  who  wished  to  instruct  his 

^  See  end  of  Aristoph.  TFasps, 


I 


CHAP.  IV        PHYSICAL  EDUCATION  125 

class  of  boys  they  were  wholly  unsuitable  ;  besides,  any 
casual  stranger  could  stand  by  and  get  a  lesson  for 
nothing.  Consequently,  even  at  Athens,  the  boys  were 
taught  in  palaistrai  which  could  be  closed  to  the 
public  :  ^  in  the  towns  and  villages  there  was  no  other 
place. 

It  is  quite  true  that  the  boys  went  to  the  gymnasia. 
Aristophanes  ^  talks  of  "  a  nice  little  boy  on  his  way 
home  from  the  gymnasium."  In  Antiphon,*  some 
older  boys  are  practising  the  javelin  in  a  gymnasium  ; 
a  younger  boy,  who  had  been  standing  among  the 
spectators,  being  called  by  his  paidotribes,  runs  across  the 
course  and  is  killed.  If  the  reading  "  paidotribes,"  for 
which  K.  F.  Hermann  would  substitute  "  paidagogos,"  is 
correct,  we  find  a  paidotribes  and  his  class  of  younger 
boys  present  in  a  gymnasium,  probably  to  practise 
javelin-throwing,  which  must  have  demanded  a  larger 
space  than  the  palaistra  often  afforded.  The  elder  boys 
are  probably  not  under  his  tuition,  for  they  are  using 
real  javelins,  not  the  unpointed  shafts  which  were 
employed  at  school.  Paidotribai  with  small  palaistrai 
may  often  have  taken  their  classes  to  the  free  public 
gymnasia  to  practise  the  diskos,  the  javelin,  and  running, 
which  required  a  large  space.  But  none  the  less  the 
palaistra  was  the  usual  scene  of  the  teaching  of  boys.* 
It  must  not,  however,  be  supposed  that  a  palaistra 
was  always  reserved  for  boys.  The  "  many  palaistrai," 
which  the  democracy  built  for  itself,^  were  doubtless 
as  much  public  buildings,  open  to  all  ages,  as  the 
Akademeia   or   Lukeion.      The    palaistrai    owned    or 

^  As  shown  by  the  beginning  of  Plato,  Lusts,  203  B. 

^  Aristoph.  Birds,  141.  3  Antiphon,  Second  Tetralogy, 

*  The  law  quoted  in  Aischines  ag.  Timarchos  is  spurious,  being  a  later  interpola- 
tion J  it  cannot  therefore  be  used  as  evidence. 
^  [Xen.]  Constit.  of  Athens,  ii.  10. 


126  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

hired  by  private  teachers  must  have  been  open  to  adults 
when  the  boys  were  not  present  :  that  which  is  the 
scene  of  the  Lusts  was  apparently  attended  by  two 
classes,  one  of  boys  and  the  other  of  youths,  who  only 
met  there  on  festival  days.  In  the  palaistra  of  Taureas, 
however,  mentioned  in  the  Charmides^  the  different 
classes  seem  all  to  meet  in  the  undressing-room  ;  but 
on  that  occasion  the  building  may  have  been  open  for 
general  practice,  not  for  teaching.  Some  such  arrange- 
ment into  classes  must  have  taken  place  in  the  village 
palaistrai.-^  The  master  who  taught  the  boys  in  the 
palaistra  was  called  the  paidotribes,  "  boy-rubber "  : 
he  must  have  owed  his  name  to  the  great  part  which 
rubbing,  whether  with  oil  or  with  various  sorts  of  dust, 
played  in  athletics.^  He  was  expected  to  be  scientific. 
He  had  to  know  what  exercises  would  suit  what  con- 
stitutions :  ^  he  is  often  coupled  with  the  doctor.*  His 
object  was  to  prevent,  the  doctor's  to  cure,  diseases. 
He  even  prescribed  diet.  Besides  health,  he  was 
expected  to  aim  at  beauty  and  strength.^  His  training, 
in  Plato's  opinion,  also  served  to  produce  firmness  of 
character  and  strength  of  will  :  he  must  therefore  know 
how  much  training  to  administer  to  each  boy,  for  too 
much  would  cause  excess  of  these  qualities  and  lead 
to  savage  brutality,  and  too  little  would  result  in 
effeminacy.* 

^  The  division  of  the  boys  into  classes  by  age  in  the  contests  points  to  such  a 
usage.     Cp.  the  ^Xi/cfai  at  Teos. 

2  Later,  this  was  done  by  a  special  official,  the  dXetTrr^s. 

'  Aristot.  Fol.  iv.  i.  i. 

*■  e.g.  Plato,  Gorg.  504  a  5   Protag.  313  d;  Aristot.  Pol.  iii.  16.  8. 

^  Plato,  Gorg.  452  B. 

*  The  paidotribes  is  distinguished  from  the  gumnastes  as  the  schoolmaster 
from  the  crammer.  The  gumnastes  coached  pupils  chiefly  for  the  great  games, 
while  the  paidotribes  presided  over  physical  training  generally,  especially  of  boys, 
but  sometimes  of  epheboi.  See  the  elaborate  discussion  in  Grasberger,  i.  263- 
268. 


CHAP.  IV        PHYSICAL  EDUCATION  127 

Since  so  much  science  was  demanded  of  the  paido- 
tribes,  parents  exercised  much  forethought  in  choosing 
a  gymnastic  school  for  their  boys  :  ^  they  would  "  call 
upon  their  friends  and  relations  to  give  advice,  and 
deliberate  for  many  days,"  in  order  to  find  a  trainer 
whose  instructions  would  "  make  their  son's  body  a 
useful  servant  to  his  mind,  not  likely  by  its  bad 
condition  to  compel  him  to  shirk  his  duty  in  war  or 
elsewhere."  ^  This  at  Athens,  no  doubt:  in  the  smaller 
towns  and  villages  there  could  have  been  little  choice  : 
parents  must  have  taken  what  they  could  get. 

On  arriving  at  the  chosen  palaistra  with  his  paida- 
gogos  the  boy  would  find  a  class  assembling.  He 
would  first  go  into  the  undressing-room^  and  strip. 
For  all  the  exercises  were  performed  naked.  This  no 
doubt  gave  the  trainer  a  good  opportunity  of  watching 
which  muscles  most  required  development,  and  what 
constitutional  weaknesses,  if  any,  must  be  treated  cir- 
cumspectly. Passing  into  the  palaistra  proper,  the  boy 
would  find  an  enclosure  surrounded,  in  the  case  of  the 
more  expensive  schools,  with  pillars.  There  would  be 
no  roof.  Hellenic  custom  maintained  that  it  was 
healthy  to  expose  the  naked  body  to  the  open  air  and 
the  mid-day  sun :  a  white  skin  was  regarded  as  a  sign 
of  effeminacy.*  If  the  sun  became  dangerously  hot, 
little  caps  were  worn,  which  at  other  times  hung  on  the 
walls  of  the  palaistra.  The  floor  was  sand.  Before 
wrestling  or  practising  the  pankration  or  jumping, 
the  boys  had  to  break  up  the  soil  with  pickaxes^ 
in  order  to  make  it  soft :  these  pickaxes  were 
also   suspended   on   the   walls.       Beside    them   would 

^  Plato,  Protag.  313  a.  ^  /^/^_  326  c.  ^  diroSvr-^piov. 

^  See  Thompson,  Plato,  Phaedr.  239  c,  and  Eur.  Bacch.  456. 
5  lUustr.  Plate  VI.  a. 


128  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

be  also  korukoi  or  punch -balls,  halter es  (a  sort  of 
dumb-bell,  used  for  jumping  and  other  exercises), 
the  scrapers  with  which  the  dirt  and  sweat  were 
removed,  bags  to  hold  the  cords  which  were  used 
as  boxing-gloves,  and  spare  javelins.  Grown-up  men 
were  not  allowed  to  enter  during  the  lessons,  but  could 
apparently,  if  they  wished,  watch  "  from  outside,"  that 
is,  probably,  from  the  dressing-room,  where  we  often 
find  Sokrates  conversing  with  the  pupils,  boys  and 
lads  :  he  could  not,  probably,  penetrate  further. 

The  symbol  of  office  which  marked  the  paidotribes 
was  a  long  forked  stick  depicted  on  the  vases.-*  This  was 
probably  derived  from  the  branch  which  the  umpires  at 
the  games  held  in  their  hands.  The  two  symbols  are 
so  much  alike  when  represented  on  the  vases  ^  that  it  is 
often  hard  to  distinguish  them.  There  were  generally 
several  under-masters  in  the  palaistra.  The  more  pro- 
ficient boys  also  were  employed  in  teaching  backward 
schoolfellows ;  these  *'  pupil-teachers  "  appear  on  vases,^ 
holding  the  stick  of  office  like  the  grown-up  masters. 
No  doubt,  poor  boys  managed  to  get  instruction  in  this 
manner  from  their  richer  friends  in  the  public  gymnasia 
and  palaistrai,  without  attending  a  school  at  all. 

The  staff  of  a  palaistra  also  included  professional 
flute-players,  for  most  of  the  exercises  *  were  performed 
to  the  sound  of  a  flute,  in  order  that  good  time  might 
be  preserved  in  the  various  movements.  The  player 
in  these  cases  wore  the  (pop/Sela  or  mouth  band.^ 

As  I  have  pointed  out  in  Chapter  II.,  although  the 
literary  authorities  make  gymnastic  training  of  a  sort 

1  lUustr.  Plates  VI.  a  and  VI.  b. 

*  See  especially  the  Panathenaic  vases  in  the  British  Museum. 

3  e.g.  Brit.  Mus.  E  288. 

<  Brit.  Mus.  B  361,  E  427,  E  288. 

5  Illustr.  Plate  VIII. 


CHAP.  IV        PHYSICAL  EDUCATION  129 

begin  with  the  seventh  year,  it  is  not  at  all  probable 
that  the  more  recognised  exercises,  such  as  boxing  and 
wrestling,  began  till  a  good  many  years  later.  The 
vases  suggest  that  these  subjects  were  taught  some  years 
after  letters  and  music  had  begun,  for  they  represent 
only  older  boys  as  learning  them.  Aristotle  seems  to 
vouch  for  a  graduated  course  of  gymnastic  exercises 
during  boyhood.^ 

What  did  the  boys  learn  at  the  palaistra  in  the 
meantime .?  Deportment  and  easy  exercises.  A  passage 
in  Aristophanes  informs  us  that  they  were  taught  the 
most  graceful  way  to  sit  down  and  get  up.^  Vases 
represent  boys  learning  how  to  stand  straight.  There 
were  also  all  sorts  of  exercises  in  which  the  unpointed 
javelin  played  the  part  of  a  training -rod  and  the 
halteres  the  part  of  dumb-bells.  The  paidotribes  might 
also  try  to  strengthen  particular  muscles  in  particular 
boys.  In  an  epigram,^  a  trainer  is  exercising  a  boy's 
middle  by  bending  him  over  his  knee,  and  then,  while 
holding  his  feet  fast,  swinging  him  over  backwards. 

No  doubt  what  was  known  as  "  gesticulation  "  (rb 
'Xei'povofielv)  played  a  large  part  in  this  earlier  training. 
"  Gesticulation  "  meant  a  scientific  series  of  gestures  and 
movements  of  all  the  limbs,  somewhat  like  the  modern 
systems  of  physical  education  taught  by  Sandow  and 
others.  It  was  chiefly  an  exercise  for  the  arms,  as  the 
name  implies,  but  on  a  celebrated  occasion  Hippokleides 
the  Athenian  stood  on  his  head  on  a  table  and  "  gesticu- 
lated "  with  his  feet.*  The  particular  movements  were 
very  carefully  designed,  and  were  all  intended  to  be 
beautiful  and  gentlemanly.^  Gesticulation  served  as  a 
preparation    for    various     dancing -systems,     but    was 

^  Aristot.  Pol.  viii.  4.  ^  Aristoph   Clouds,  973. 

'  Anthol.  Palat.  xii.  222.  ^  Herod,  vi.  127-129.  ^  Athen.  629  B. 

K 


130  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

distinct  from  dancing,  for  Charmides  was  able  to  ges- 
ticulate but  unable  to  dance.^  It  was  also  preparatory 
to  gymnastics,  for  it  resembled  the  movements  of  a 
boxer  sparring  at  the  air  for  lack  of  an  opponent.^ 
The  halteres  were  possibly  often  employed,  for  they 
played  a  part  in  many  gymnastic  exercises.^  This 
"  gesticulation,"  then,  being  a  preliminary  to  gymnastics 
and  dancing,  would  be  the  natural  thing  for  the  small 
boys  to  learn  in  the  palaistra.  Other  early  exercises 
were  rope-climbing*  and  a  sort  of  leap-frog.^  The 
various  kinds  of  ball-game,^  mostly  designed  to  exercise 
the  body  scientifically,  may  also  have  been  employed. 
Of  the  regular  exercises  of  the  palaistra,  which  I  am 
about  to  discuss,  running  and  jumping  would  suit  quite 
small  boys  ;  the  diskos  and  javelin  could  also  be  begun 
at  an  early  age,  for  smaller  sizes  were  made  for  children. 

The  age  at  which  the  recognised  exercises  were  first 
taught  no  doubt  varied  with  individual  taste  and 
physical  capacity  :  no  strict  line  can  be  drawn.  These 
exercises  were  wrestling,  boxing,  the  pankration,  jump- 
ing, running,  throwing  the  diskos  and  the  javelin. 

Wrestling  (ttoXt})  was  probably  regarded  as  the  most 
important  of  these  subjects,  for  it  gave  its  name  to  the 
Palaistra.  For  this  exercise  the  soil  was  broken  up 
with  the  pickaxe  and  watered  :  the  bodies  of  the 
combatants  were  oiled  beforehand.  By  these  means 
the  Hellenes  prevented  their  boys  from  disfiguring  their 
bodies  with  bumps  and  bruises,  and  the  slipperiness  of 
the  ground  and  of  the  antagonist's  body  made  the 
exercise    more  difficult    and    therefore    more  valuable. 

^  Xen.  Banquet,  ii.  19.  ^  piato,  Laws,  830  c. 

3  Philostratus,  On  Gymnastics,  55.         "*  Galen,  De  sanit.  tuend.  ii.  8. 

^  Grasberger,  i.  154.  ^  Described  at  length,  Grasberger,  i.  84-98. 


CHAP.  IV        PHYSICAL  EDUCATION  131 

Three  throws  were  necessary  for  victory.  There  were 
two  sorts  of  wrestling.  In  one  the  victor  had  to  throw 
his  antagonist  without  coming  to  the  ground  himself; 
this  was  a  matter  of  ingenious  twists  and  turns  some- 
what like  the  Japanese  jiu-jitsu.  In  the  other  both 
combatants  rolled  over  and  over  on  the  ground  :  this 
was  less  scientific.  The  leading  paidotribai  had  their 
own  favourite  systems  of  wrestling,  with  various 
openings,  as  in  chess,  and  various  ways  of  meeting 
them.  ''  What  style  of  wrestling  did  you  learn  at  the 
Palaistra .?  "  Kleon  asks  the  sausage -seller.^  When 
two  boys  were  set  to  wrestle  in  school,  they  were  not 
allowed  to  contend  as  they  pleased  with  a  view  to 
victory,  but  had  to  carry  out  the  directions  of  the 
paidotribes.^  A  fragment  of  a  system  of  wrestling  has 
been  unearthed  at  Oxurhunchos.^ 

Suppose  there  are  two  boys,  Charmides  and  Glaukon. 
The  paidotribes  sets  them  to  wrestle,  while  the  rest 
of  the  class  watch.  He  holds  a  long  forked  stick  in 
his  hand.  Pointing  with  it  to  Charmides,  he  says, 
"  You  put  your  right  hand  between  his  legs  and  grip 
him."  Then  to  Glaukon,  "  Close  your  legs  on  it,  and 
thrust  your  left  side  against  his  side."  To  Charmides, 
"  Throw  him  off  with  your  left  hand."  To  Glaukon, 
"  Shift  your  ground,  and  engage."  Each  group  of 
directions,  or  figure  (ax^jfia),  as  it  was  called,  closes 
with  the  word  "  Engage "  (irXi^ov),  At  this  point, 
probably,  the  two  boys  were  allowed  to  wrestle  at  will 
the  result,  however,  being  foreseen  and  inevitable  owing 
to  the  previous  moves. 

An  epigram  in  the  Anthology  represents  instruction 

1  Aristoph.  Knights,  1238. 

2  See  lUustr.  Plate  VI.  a  for  a  wrestling  lesson.     Lucian,  Ass.  8-1 1. 

3  Oxyrhynchus  Papyri,  Grenfell  and  Hunt,  Part  III.  No.   466   (1903).     The 
papyrus  is  of  the  second  century. 


132  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

of  this  sort  being  given :  the  boy  retorts  in  the  middle, 
"  I  can't  possibly  do  it,  Diophantos  ;  that's  not  the 
way  boys  wrestle."  ^ 

But,  to  use  a  parallel  given  by  Isokrates,  a  pupil  is 
not  yet  a  complete  orator,  when  he  knows  how  to 
create  pathos,  irony,  and  so  forth,  and  has  been  taught 
the  parts  of  a  speech  :  he  has  still  to  learn  when  and 
where  and  in  what  order  to  employ  these  several 
artifices.  So  with  wrestling.  A  boy  who  knows  his 
"  figures "  is  not  yet  a  wrestler  :  he  has  got  to  learn 
when  is  the  right  moment  to  employ  each  of  them  in 
an  actual  contest  with  a  real  antagonist.  "  When  the 
paidotribes  has  taught  his  pupils  the  '  figures '  invented 
for  bodily  training  and  practised  them  and  made  them 
perfect  in  these,  he  makes  the  boys  go  through  their 
exercises  again  and  accustoms  them  to  physical  toil,  and 
compels  them  to  string  together  one  by  one  the  figures 
which  they  have  learnt,  that  they  may  have  a  firmer 
grasp  of  them  and  get  a  clearer  comprehension  of  the 
right  occasions  for  using  them  :  for  it  is  impossible  to 
comprehend  these  in  an  exact  science."  ^  The  boys 
have  to  judge  for  themselves,  in  the  heat  of  the 
contest,  which  figure  it  will  be  expedient  to  use :  the 
trainer  cannot  fix  that  beforehand.  But  they  will  best 
be  able  to  judge,  if  by  long  practice  they  have 
discovered  which  figures  suit  them  best  and  which 
prove  fatal  to  a  particular  type  of  opponent. 

Boxing  was  similarly  taught  by  a  series  of  "  figures." 
The  boys  used  the  light  gloves,  consisting  of  strings 
wound  round  the  hands,  not  the  heavy,  metal-weighted 
gloves  which  professional  athletes  wore.  The pankration^ 
was   a   mixture    of  boxing  and    wrestling  :    the    boys 

^  AntAo/.  Palat.  xii.  206.  2  Isok.  Antid.  184. 

'  Sec  Illustr.  Plate  VI.  b  for  a  pankration  lesson. 


PLATE  VII. 


Photo  by  Mr.  R.  Coupland. 
Stadion  at   Delphi   from  the  Fortifications  of  Philomelos. 
Length  about  220  yards. 


Photo  by  Mr.  R.  Couplaud. 

Stadion  at   Delphi  from  the   East  End. 


CHAP.  IV        PHYSICAL  EDUCATION  133 

usually  wore  similar  gloves  for  this  but  left  the  fingers 
unfastened,  only  the  wrists  and  knuckles  being  pro- 
tected :  sometimes  they  fought  with  bare  hands.  For 
both  these  exercises  it  was  usual  to  wear  dogskin 
caps,  in  order  to  protect  the  ears  from  injury.  The 
pankration  seems  to  have  been  regarded  as  an  unsatis- 
factory game  for  boys  :  so  it  was  excluded  from  both 
Olympian  and  Pythian  games  till  a  comparatively 
late  date.  For  one  thing,  it  was  dangerous,  and 
the  exercise  was  very  severe.  But  in  the  palaistra, 
carefully  regulated  by  the  paidotribes  and  stopped 
when  the  fighting  became  dangerous,  no  doubt  it  was 
harmless  enough.  Alkibiades,  however,  once  succeeded 
in  biting  an  opponent  who  was  pressing  him  hard,  being 
ready  to  do  anything  rather  than  be  beaten.  "  You 
bite  like  a  girl,  Alkibiades  !  "  exclaimed  the  indignant 
boy.     "  No,  like  a  lion,''  answered  Alkibiades.^ 

Running  needs  no  comment  :  the  methods  are  much 
the  same  in  all  ages.  The  chief  distances  for  races  in 
Hellas  were  the  Stadion  or  200  yards,^  the  Diaulos  or 
quarter-mile,  and  the  Long-distance  race,  which  varied 
from  three-quarter  mile  to  about  three  miles.  The 
race  in  armour  was  not  taught  to  boys.  Races  were 
often  run  over  soft  sand,  where  the  runners  sank  in, 
just  as  long-distance  races  in  England  often  include  a 
ploughed  field  or  two.  The  sand  made  running  both 
a  more  severe  exercise  (so  that  a  shorter  distance 
sufficed)  and  also  a  better  training  for  war. 

For  the  long  jump  the  Hellenes  used  the  "halteres" 
or  light  dumb-bells,  to  assist  their  momentum.^  Even 
in  competitions,  a  flute-player  stood  by,  to  give  the 
competitors  the  assistance  of  his   music  :    no  doubt  it 

1  Plut.  Alkib.  ii.  3.  2  See  Illustr.  Plate  VII. 

3  See  Illustr.  Plate  V.  B. 


134  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

helped  them  to  manage  their  steps  so  as  to  "  take  ofF" 
on  the  right  spot.  They  alighted  into  a  large  sandy- 
pit,  dug  up  by  the  ever-present  pickaxe  :  the  jump 
was  only  measured  if  they  came  down  on  to  this  evenly, 
leaving  a  clear  trace  of  their  foot. 

The  diskos  was  a  flat  circle  of  polished  bronze  or 
other  metal.^  The  specimen  in  the  British  Museum  is 
between  8  and  9  inches  in  diameter,  and  is  inscribed 
with  athletic  pictures  on  either  side.  It  was  flung  with 
either  hand.  A  great  many  attitudes  were  necessary 
before  the  diskos  was  launched,  and  every  muscle  of 
the  body  must  have  been  well  exercised  in  the  process. 
The  time  was  given,  in  the  palaistra,  by  a  flute-player. 
In  competitions  both  the  distance  and  the  direction  of 
the  thriw  were  taken  into  consideration. 

Boys  learnt  to  throw  the  javelin  and  spear  by 
practising  with  long  unpointed  rods,  which  were  also 
used  for  a  variety  of  physical  exercises.  The-  mark 
seems  to  have  been  a  sort  of  croquet-hoop  or  pair  of 
compasses,  fixed  into  the  ground  :  other  targets  were 
also  employed.^  The  vases  which  represent  this  pursuit 
often  show  the  paidotribes  carrying  this  hoop  or  fixing 
it  into  the  ground.  It  was  planted  at  a  fixed  distance 
which  was  stepped  out. 

It  may  be  mentioned,  before  we  leave  the  "  paido- 
tribes," that  his  fee  for  his  whole  course  seems  to 
have  been  a  jjuva,  about  ^4 :  ^  this  enabled  the  pupil 
to  attend  his  lectures  "  for  ever,"  that  is,  perhaps  till 
the  course  was  finished.  Or  perhaps  this  sum  made  a 
pupil  a  life-member  of  a  particular  private  palaistra. 

Let  us  now  look  into  one  of  the  gymnasia  at 
Athens,  the  Akademeia  or  Lukeion.     We  will  suppose 

1  Illustr.  Plate  V.  a.  2  iHustr.  Plate  V.  b. 

*  Athen.  584  c,  referring  to  about  320  b.c. 


1 


i 


CHAP.  IV        PHYSICAL  EDUCATION  135 

that  it  is  late  in  the  afternoon,  for  this  was  a  favourite 
time  for  taking  exercise  :  the  Athenians  liked  to  get  a 
good  appetite  for  their  evening  meal.  Outside,  a 
troop  of  young  men  who  intend  to  be  enrolled  in  the 
State-cavalry  are  practising  their  evolutions,  mounting, 
in  the  absence  of  stirrups,  by  a  leaping-pole,  and  charg- 
ing in  squadrons.  On  another  side  a  body  of  heavy 
infantry  with  spear  and  shield  are  assembling  for  a 
night  march  into  the  Megarid ;  ^  they  are  packing 
their  supplies,  onions  and  dried  fish,  perhaps,  into  their 
knapsacks  as  they  fall  in,  and  are  grumbling  at  having 
to  leave  Athens  just  when  a  festival  is  coming  ;  a  burly 
countryman  is  complaining  to  his  general  that  it  is  not 
his  turn  to  serve,  as  he  took  part  in  the  raid  into 
Boiotia  last  week,  and  his  general  is  threatening  him 
with  a  prosecution  for  insubordination  if  he  becomes 
abusive.  After  paying  our  respects  to  the  patron 
deities,  Herakles  and  Hermes  and  Eros,^  and  having 
muttered  a  curse  on  all  tyrants  suggested  by  the  statue 
of  Eros  which  Charmos  the  father-in-law  of  Hippias 
the  Peisistratid  set  up,^  we  enter  the  gymnasium. 

The  first  room  which  we  come  to  is  the  undressing- 
room.^  On  the  benches  round  the  walls  a  row  of  men 
are  sitting  discussing  the  exact  nature  of  Self-control  : 
an  extremely  ugly  person,  to  whom  they  all  pay  great 
respect,  is  stating  that  it  is  an  exact  science,  and,  if  only 
they  can  discover  this  science,  the  whole  world  will 
become  virtuous.  Lads  and  men  are  stripping  all 
about  the  room,  and  passing  off  to  take  their  exercises 
elsewhere  ;  others  keep  coming  in  and  dressing  and 
listening  to  the  discussion  for  a  minute  or  two.  A 
handsome  young  fellow  comes  in  :  the  ugly  man  makes 

^  Aristoph,  Peace,  357.  ^  Zeno  in  Athen.  561  c. 

^  Athen.  609  d.  ^  diroSvTi^piov.   .  See  Plato,  Charmides,  ^53  ff* 


136  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

room  for  him  with  great  energy,  and  his  friends  who 
are  sitting  at  the  end  of  the  bench  are  pushed  off 
suddenly  on  to  the  floor.  A  shout  of  laughter, 
mingled  with  some  strong  Attic  abuse,  arises.  Not 
wishing  to  be  involved  as  witnesses  in  an  interminable 
lawsuit,  we  hurry  out  through  the  further  door  into  a 
great  cloister.^  In  the  centre  of  this  is  a  large  open 
space,  with  no  roof.  Here  we  meet  a  well-known 
mathematician  from  Kurene,^  who  is  walking  round  the 
cloister  with  a  crowd  of  pupils  :  he  is  explaining  to 
them  that  famous  theorem  about  right-angled  triangles, 
whose  proof  is  so  neat  that  Pythagoras  the  vegetarian 
sacrificed  a  hundred  oxen  when  he  discovered  it.  At 
intervals  the  mathematician  stops  and  draws  a  diagram 
in  the  dust  with  his  stick.  As  we  follow  him,  we  can 
look  into  the  rooms  which  surround  the  cloister.  In 
one,  a  crowd  of  men  are  anointing  themselves  with  oil.^ 
The  rubbing,  which  is  so  good  for  all  bodily  ills,  and 
the  oil,  even  if  not  followed  by  any  further  exercise,  are 
regarded  as  an  excellent  thing.  An  Athenian  gentleman 
is  expected  to  carry  about  a  certain  fragrance  of  this 
oil,^  and  his  skin  must  always  be  sleek  with  it  ;  but  as 
a  rule  the  anointing  is  a  prelude  to  exercise,  and  is 
meant  to  make  the  joints  supple  and  the  body  slippery 
enough  to  elude  a  wrestler's  grip.^  A  slave  or  an 
attendant  stands  by  many  of  the  men,  holding  one  of 
those  dainty  oil-flasks  which  make  so  great  a  feature  in 
modern  Museums  of  Archaeology.     Through  the  next 

^  Kardareyos  Spd/xos.      Plato,  Euthud.  273  a. 

2  Theodores  (Plato,  Theait.). 

8  This  was  often  done  outside  (Plato,  Theait.  144  c).  The  oil-room  (iXaiodiaiof) 
of  Vitruvius  may  be  a  later  invention.  This  preliminary  anointing  was  called 
^■qpoKoKJieiv.  After  the  baths  they  rubbed  themselves  with  a  mixture  of  oil  and 
water  ;  this  was  xi'TXoOtr^ai. 

^    See  Xen.  Banquet,  i.  j.  ^  Aristoph.  Knights^  492. 


CHAP.  IV        PHYSICAL  EDUCATION  137 

door  we  see  the  "  dusting-room."  Various  sorts  of 
dust  were  used  for  rubbing  the  body.  They  served 
to  clean  it  of  sweat  after  exercise,  to  open  the  pores,  to 
warm  it  when  cold,  and  to  soften  the  skin.  A  yellow 
dust  was  particularly  popular  ;  for  it  made  the  body 
glisten  so  as  to  be  pleasant  to  look  at,  as  a  good  body 
in  good  condition  ought  to  be.^  Next  perhaps  will  be 
the  bathing-room — a  popular  place  in  the  evening,  for 
it  was  usual  to  take  a  bath  before  dinner.^  The 
bathers  either  splash  themselves  out  of  great  bowls 
which  stand  upon  pedestals,  or  receive  a  shower  bath 
by  getting  a  companion  or  an  attendant  to  pour  a 
pitcher  of  water  over  them.  Tanks  capable  of  re- 
ceiving the  whole  body  at  once  were  not  usual,  though 
known  to  Homer.^  Then  we  see  the  room  of  the 
korukoSy  or  punch-ball,  which  will  present  a  very  curious 
appearance.*  The  korukos  is  a  large  sack  hanging 
from  the  ceiling  by  a  rope.  The  lighter  korukoi  are 
filled  with  fig  seeds  or  meal,  the  heavier  with  sand. 
They  hang  at  about  the  height  of  a  man's  waist.  You 
push  one  of  them  gently  at  first,  and  more  and  more 
violently  as  you  gain  experience  ;  having  pushed  it, 
you  plant  yourself  in  the  way  of  the  rebound,  and  try 
to  stop  the  sack  with  your  hands  or  your  chest  or  your 
back  or  your  head.  If  you  are  not  strong  enough,  you 
will  be  knocked  over,  and  the  room  will  laugh.  This 
will  practise  you  in  standing  steady,  and  make  all  parts 
of  your  body  firm  and  muscular.  The  korukos  can 
also  be  used  as  a  punch-ball,  to  strengthen  the  boxer's 
arms  and  shoulders.  This  exercise  is  especially  re- 
commended   for  boxers   and    pankratiasts  :     the    latter 

^  Philostratus,  On  Gymnastics^  56.     It  was  usual  to  be  dusted  before  wrestling. 

^  Xen.  Banquet. 

^  For  a  good  bathing  scene,  see  Brit.  Mus,  Vase  E  83.     Also  E  32. 

^  Philostratus,  On  Gymnastics,  57. 


138  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

ought  to  use  the  heavier  variety.  Perhaps  there  will 
also  be  some  lay-figures  hanging  up  round  the  walls, 
for  these  also  were  used  for  practising.  Here,  too, 
some  unlucky  individuals  who,  from  unpopularity  or 
other  causes,  are  unable  to  find  an  antagonist,  will  be 
exercising  their  fists  on  thin  air.  But  both  these 
expedients  were  regarded  as  ridiculous.^ 

There  were  a  large  number  of  other  rooms  round 
the  cloister,  some  intended  for  exercises  in  wet  weather, 
for,  if  possible,  exercise  was  always  taken  out  of  doors  ; 
for  it  was  regarded  as  a  great  object  to  make  the  skin 
brown  and  hard  by  exposure  to  the  sun.  So  King 
Agesilaos  put  his  Asiatic  captives  up  for  sale  in  his 
camp  naked,  in  order  that  his  Hellenic  soldiers,  seeing 
their  pale,  soft  flesh,  unused  to  exposure,  might  despise 
their  enemy.  But  as  most  of  these  rooms  were  fur- 
nished with  seats,  they  were  largely  used  as  lecture- 
halls  by  wandering  Sophists,^  who  gave  free  lectures  in 
them  to  any  passer-by  who  might  care  to  listen,  in 
order  to  attract  regular,  paying  pupils.  So  we  can 
take  our  pick  and  hear  lectures  on  poetry  or  meta- 
physics, music  or  rhetoric,  geography  or  history,  at  our 
pleasure. 

After  this,  we  can  turn  our  attention  to  the 
great  centra]  courtyard,^  which  is  surrounded  by  the 
cloister,  or  to  the  racecourse  and  open  spaces  which 
lie  beyond  it.  In  one  part  will  be  the  wrestling 
arena.*  Pairs  of  oiled,  naked  combatants  will  be 
struggling  together,  amid   a   crowd  of  cheering  spec- 

^  Plato,  Laivs,  830  c. 

^  Particular  Sophists  attached  themselves  to  particular  gymnasia  and  palaistrai 
which  they  came  to  regard  as  their  schools.  Mikkos  has  already  occupied  the 
newly-built  palaistra  in  the  Lusis,  204  a.  Cp.  Plato's  position  at  the  Akademeia  and 
Aristotle's  at  the  Lukeion. 

^  a.i>\ff  (Plato,  Lush,  206  e).  ^  Kovlarpa. 


CHAP.  IV        PHYSICAL  EDUCATION  139 

tators,  and  perhaps  the  trainer  will  be  standing  by, 
giving  them  directions.  One  group  attracts  especial 
attention  :  for  the  pair  are  going  to  represent  Athens 
at  Olympia  next  year.  Elsewhere  the  pankratiasts  are 
contending,  some  sparring  at  arm's  length,  others 
joined  in  a  deadly  grapple,  rolling  over  and  over  on 
the  ground  and  pummelling  one  another's  heads  with 
their  gloved  knuckles.  They  are  covered  with  clotted 
dust  and  oil  and  will  need  much  scraping.  Then  there 
are  the  boxers,  bearing  either  the  light  gloves,  or,  if 
they  intend  to  take  part  in  a  big  competition,  the 
heavy  iron  balls  padded  over  with  leather  which  were 
used  in  the  great  Games.^  There  are  races  too  in 
progress,  lap  by  lap  round  the  great  Stadion.  Some  of 
the  runners  are  naked,  others  are  wearing  helmet  and 
shield,  since  they  are  practising  for  the  Race  in  Armour. 
Friends  run  beside  them  for  a  little  way,  pacing  them 
and  encouraging  them.  Others  are  jumping,  with  the 
halteres  in  their  hands,  into  the  pit,  while  their  friends 
mark  the  point  where  their  heels  have  left  a  mark  in 
the  sand.  A  professional  flute-player,  with  his  mouth- 
band  on,  sets  the  time.  Each  is,  no  doubt,  hoping 
to  beat  Phaiillos'  great  jump  of  55  feet — the  world's 
record.  Everywhere  are  crowds  of  spectators,^  and 
everywhere  eager  trainers  giving  advice,  hoping,  if  their 
pupil  gains  a  prize  at  some  great  Games,  to  make  a 
name  for  themselves,  and  attract  a  crowd  of  lads  to 
their  paid  lessons  :  perhaps  they  will  even  be  immortal- 
ised by  some  contemporary  Pindar  in  a  song  in  honour 
of  their  pupiFs  victory. 

In  another  corner,  it  may  be,  there  will  be  teams 

^  Plato,  Laivs^  830  b. 

^  For  the  excitement  of  the  spectators  and  their  shouts  of  encouragement  see 
Isok.  Euag.  32. 


I40  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

practising  together.  A  regiment  of  epheboi  may  be 
undergoing  their  gymnastic  training  before  service 
on  the  frontier  :  ^  or  a  team  of  them  may  be  train- 
ing, watched  by  the  rich  "  gumnasiarchos,"  for  the 
torch -race  at  the  festival  of  Hephaistos,  or  for  the 
race  from  the  temple  of  Dionusos  to  that  of  Athena 
of  the  Sunshades,  where  the  winner  will  receive  a  large 
bowl  containing  wine  and  honey  and  cheese  and  meat 
and  olive  oil — not  all  mixed  together,  let  us  hope.^ 
There  may  also  be  teams  practising  wrestling  and  other 
bodily  exercises  together.  Their  trainer,  *'  thinking  it 
impossible  to  lay  down  separate  regulations  for  each 
individual,  orders  roughly  what  suits  the  majority.  So 
every  one  of  the  team  takes  an  equal  amount  of  exercise, 
and  they  all  start  and  all  stop  running,  or  wrestling,  or 
whatever  it  may  be,  at  the  same  moment."  ^ 

In  the  larger  open  spaces  we  shall  find  Athenians 
throwing  the  diskos,  like  Muron's  celebrated  figure,  or 
practising  archery,  or  flinging  the  spear  or  javelin. 
In  watching  these  care  must  be  exercised  :  unwary  spec- 
tators may  be  killed  or  injured.  Mythology  is  full  of 
unfortunates  killed  in  this  way.  Was  not  the  fair 
Huakinthos  slain  by  Apollo's  quoit  .^  Antiphon,  too, 
in  his  new  book  on  speech-writing,  takes  as  one  of  his 
themes  a  boy  killed  by  a  comrade's  javelin  accidentally. 
We  can  also  take  a  lesson  in  the  use  of  spear  and  shield 
from  the  teacher  of  arms  :  a  pair  of  Sophists,  who 
specialise  in  this  subject,  have  just  come  to  Athens,  and 
will  doubtless  be  exhibiting  their  skill  here.  We  re- 
member, though,  that  the  warlike  Spartans  ridicule  these 
professors,  and  General  Laches  regards  them  as  quite 

^  Some  gymnasia  provided  a  large  "  Room  of  the  Epheboi."     So  in  Vitruvius' 
model. 

2  Athen.  495-6.  3  pi^to^  p^/y^   ^94  d,  e. 


CHAP.  IV        PHYSICAL  EDUCATION  141 

useless  for  military  purposes,  as  we  heard  him  telling 
Sokrates  the  other  day.'^     So  we  will  pass  on. 

The  vast  majority  of  people  in  the  gymnasium 
confine  themselves  to  walking  about.  The  colonnades 
and  the  gardens  are  convenient  and  attractive,  and 
there  is  plenty  to  watch  everywhere.  The  "  xustos," 
or  covered  cloister,^  where  athletes  exercise  in  bad 
weather,  is  particularly  popular  among  the  walkers. 
And  while  they  walk,  they  talk.  There  is  a  group  of 
philosophical  students  arguing  about  the  Supreme  Good 
or  constructing  an  ideal  State.  There  is  a  party  of 
inquirers  who  are  discussing  the  nature  of  plants,  or 
the  varieties  of  crustaceans.  Yonder,  a  half- naked, 
unkempt  enthusiast  is  declaiming  against  luxury. 
"  Man,"  he  cries,  ''  is  independent  of  circumstances." 
Everywhere,  walkers  and  spectators  and  talkers,  but 
walkers  above  all. 

For  the  average  Athenian  spent  all  his  time  upon 
his  legs  :  to  sit  down  was  the  mark  of  a  slave.^  He 
walked  nearly  all  day  :  the  distance  which  he  covered 
in  five  or  six  days  would  easily  stretch  from  Athens  to 
Olympia.  He  took  a  walk  before  breakfast,  another 
before  lunch,  another  before  dinner,  and  another  between 
dinner  and  bed."* 

Games  of  ball  are  going  on  in  the  ball-court  yonder.^ 
We  may  remember  that  the  poet  -Sophocles  was  a 
famous  player.^  But  the  shadow  on  the  great  sun-dial 
has  nearly  reached  the  ten-foot  mark  which  announces 
dinner-time  to  the  Athenian  world.  The  crowds  who 
have  been   exercising  themselves  are  scraping  off  the 

^  But    by    the    end    of   the    fourth   century  the    teacher   of  arms    becomes    an 
important  individual  in  the  training  of  the  epheboi. 

'^  Plato,  Euthud.  273  a.  ^  Xen.  Econ.  iii.  13. 

■*    Xen.  Econ.  xi.  18  }  Banquet^  i.  7,  ix.  i.  ^  ffipaipiffT'^piov. 

^  Athen.  20  f. 


142  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

sweat  and  dirt  with  the  o-TXeyyc^  or  scraper,^  or  else 
hurrying  to  the  bath-rooms.  After  the  bath  comes 
another  anointing,  with  oil  and  water  this  time.^  Then 
away  through  the  nearest  gate  into  the  city,  while  the 
great  buildings  on  the  Akropolis  grow  misty  in  the 
twilight  and  Athena's  guardian  Spear  catches  the  last 
rays  of  the  setting  sun. 

All  this  was  open  to  the  poorest  Athenian  :  there 
was  no  fee  for  entrance.  The  only  expenses  were  those 
incurred  in  buying  an  oil-flask  and  scraper,  which  the 
State  did  not  as  a  rule  provide,  and  any  fees  that  might 
be  paid  to  a  trainer  for  special  "  coaching."  The  poor 
could  learn  as  much  as  they  required  from  watching 
those  who  were  proficient.  It  was  usual  to  tip  the  man 
in  the  public  baths  who  poured  cold  water  over  the 
bathers  and  assisted  them  generally  :  but  this  probably 
did  not  apply  to  the  bath-rooms  in  the  gymnasia.  The 
State  certainly  made  it  easy  for  every  citizen  to  take  as 
much  exercise  as  he  pleased. 

Women  were  wholly  excluded  from  athletics  at 
Athens.  In  Sparta  girls  exercised  themselves  as  much 
as  the  boys.  In  other  Dorian  States  feminine  athletics 
were  encouraged  to  a  less  degree.  At  Argos  there 
were  foot-races  for  girls.  In  Chios  they  could  be  seen 
wrestling  in  the  gymnasia.^ 

But  the  gymnasia  and  palaistrai,  though  they  pro- 
vided so  many  different  kinds  of  exercises,  did  not 
supply  the  Hellenes  with  their  sole  opportunities  for 
keeping  the  body  in  good  condition.  Hunting  was  a 
popular  employment  at  Sparta  and  no  doubt  elsewhere  : 
Xenophon,  who  was  devoted  to  it,  would  have  liked 

^  Brit.  Mus.  E  83,  for  a  picture  of  this  in  use. 
^  XVTXoOffdat.  3  Athen.  566  c. 


CHAP.  IV        PHYSICAL  EDUCATION 


143 


to  make  it  more  popular  in  Attica/  where  it  languished, 
perhaps  from  lack  of  game.  Swimming  and  rowing 
were  usual  accomplishments.  Riding  was  compulsory 
for  rich  citizens  at  Athens,  for  they  had  to  serve  in  the 
cavalry  ;  it  was  also  popular  in  Thessaly,  the  land  of 
horses.  Military  service  provided  both  an  incentive 
to  physical  exercise  and  a  frequent  means  of  obtaining 
it.  Dancing  was  universal  throughout  the  Hellenic 
world  and  played  a  larger  part  in  Hellenic  education  than 
is  usually  recognised.  At  Sparta  it  was  of  paramount 
importance.  At  Athens  it  was  taught  free  to  large 
numbers  of  boys  under  the  system  of  leitourgiai.  Plato 
divides  physical  education  into  dancing  and  wrestling.^ 
Aristophanes^  brackets  dancing  between  the  palaistra 
and  music,  when  he  wishes  to  give  the  three  elements 
of  a  gentleman's  education.  Choral  dancing  to  a 
Hellene  was  at  once  the  ritual  of  religion,  the  ordinary 
accompaniment  of  a  festival  or  public  holiday,  the 
highest  form  of  music,  and  the  most  perfect  system  of 
physical  exercise  then  discovered. 

The  modern  reader  finds  it  very  hard  to  realise 
why  Hellenic  philosophers  attach  so  much  educational 
importance  to  the  various  kinds  of  dance.  This  is 
because  modern  dancing  differs  from  its  ancient  proto- 
type in  two  very  important  particulars :  it  is  not 
connected  with  religion  and  it  is  not  dramatic.  In  the 
East  dancing  was,  and  is,  the  language  of  religion. 
David,  to  show  his  fervour,  danced  before  the  Ark 
with  all  his  might.  In  Hellas,  dancing  accompanied 
every  rite  and  every  mystery.*  The  choral  dance 
afforded  the  outlet  to  religious  enthusiasm  which  else- 

^  Hunting  with  Hounds,  passim.     So  Plato  in  the  Laws,  with  reservations. 

^  Plato,  Laws,  795  e.  *  Aristoph.  Frogs,  729. 

*  Lucian,  On  Dancings  15. 


144  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

where  is  provided  by  services  :  any  change  in  its 
characteristics  was  a  change  in  ritual  and  in  the  in- 
expressible sentiments  and  moral  attitudes  which  become 
so  closely  bound  up  with  habitual  religious  observances. 
And,  since  it  was  the  usual  ritual  of  worship,  dancing 
became  all-important  in  education,  as  providing  the 
forms  through  which  the  highest  aspirations  of  the 
children  were  accustomed  to  find  expression. 

The  boy  who  danced  in  honour  of  Dionusos  was 
trying  to  assimilate  himself  to  the  god,  whose  history 
and  personality  would  be  brought  home  to  him  vividly 
by  the  vineyards  around  him  :  they  would  serve  him  for 
a  parable.  The  vine  that  came  so  mysteriously  out  of 
the  earth,  lived  its  short  life  in  the  rain  and  sunshine, 
and  was  crushed  and  killed  at  the  harvest,  to  rise 
again  in  the  strange  juice  which  thrilled  him  with  such 
wondrous  power — there  was  plenty  of  parable  for  him 
there.  And  while  he  felt  the  god's  history  so  vividly, 
he  was  acting  it,  for  acting  was  the  very  essence  of 
Hellenic  dancing.  He  would  act  the  sorrows  of 
Dionusos,  his  persecution  from  city  to  city,  and  his 
final  conquest  ;  he  would  match  each  incident  in  the 
story  with  suitable  inward  feelings  and  outward  gestures 
of  sorrow  and  triumph.  Thus  his  dancing  came  to 
be  a  keenly  religious  observance,  accompanied  by  more 
vivid  acting  than  is  possible  on  a  modern  stage  ;  such 
dancing,  it  must  be  remembered,  was  the  parent  of  Attic 
Drama.  The  dramatic  power  of  such  acting  became 
enormous  ;  one  dancer,  it  is  said,  could  make  the  whole 
philosophic  system  of  Pythagoras  intelligible  without 
speaking  a  word,  simply  by  his  gestures  and  attitudes.^ 

In  such  dramatic  dancing  the  subject  or  plot  was 
important.     Here    the  weakness   of  the  old   Hellenic 

^  Athen.  20  d. 


CHAP.  IV       PHYSICAL  EDUCATION  145 

mythology  became  fatal.  For  it  was  the  old  myths 
that  supplied  the  motives  of  religious  dances  as  well 
as  of  the  drama,  and  many  of  them  were  morally 
unsatisfactory.  When  a  chorus  of  boys  danced  the 
Birth-pangs  of  Semele,  the  most  famous  dithyramb 
of  Timotheos,  not  unnaturally  objections  were  raised. 
The  new  school  of  musicians  and  poets,  which  arose 
towards  the  end  of  the  fifth  century,  tried  to  represent 
everything  and  anything  in  the  most  realistic  way 
possible  :  their  dancers  had  to  imitate  with  voice  and 
gesture  "  blacksmiths  at  the  forge,  craftsmen  at  work, 
sailors  rowing  and  boatswains  giving  them  orders, 
horses  neighing,  bulls  bellowing,"  ^  and  so  forth.  They 
chose  the  commonest  and  coarsest  scenes,  just  like 
Dutch  painters.  In  their  hands,  dancing  became  some- 
thing vulgar,  as  well  as  morally  risky,  though  still  under 
a  semi-religious  sanction.  It  is  this  charge  which 
justified  Plato^s  denunciations  of  the  dramatic  element 
in  poetry  and  music.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the 
choregos  at  Athens,  who  collected  the  boys  from  his 
tribe  to  dance  these  dithyrambs,  could  use  compulsion 
if  fathers  refused  to  allow  their  sons  to  join  his  chorus.^ 
Yet  the  advantages  of  learning  to  dance  were  great, 
quite  apart  from  the  religious  aspects.  Dancing  was  a 
scientifically  designed  system  of  physical  training,  which 
exercised  every  part  of  the  body  symmetrically.^  The 
different  masters  invented  systems  of  their  own,  just 
as  the  paidotribai  invented  systems  of  wrestling  ;  in 
both  cases  the  teaching  began  with  a  series  of  figures, 
which  were  afterwards  fitted  together.  Different 
localities  also  had  their  own  particular  figures."* 

^  Plato,  Re^.  396  A,  B. 

*  Antiphon,  The  Choreutes^  ii.  ^  Xen.  Banquet^  ii.  17. 

*  Lakonian  and  Attic  (Herod,  vi.  129)  ;  Persian  (Xen.  Anab.  vi.  i.  10)  ;  Troizcnian, 
Epizephurian  Lokrian,  Cretan,  Ionian,  Mantinean  in  Lucian,  On  Dancings  22. 

L 


146  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

The  solo  dance  was  used  for  private  exercise.  It 
also  made  its  way  into  the  drama.  Sometimes,  too,  in 
the  choral  performances  one  or  two  of  the  best  dancers 
were  singled  out  to  perform  more  elaborate  evolutions 
expressing  the  dramatic  course  of  the  subject.  But 
the  choral  dance  was  universal  throughout  Hellas.  Its 
motives  ranged  from  the  solemn  religious  questionings 
of  Aeschylus  to  the  drunken  buffoonery  of  the  vine- 
festivals.  The  dance  might  be  the  act  of  worship  of 
a  whole  people,  as  in  the  great  festivals  at  Delos.  It 
might,  like  the  Gumnopaidia  at  Sparta,  be  designed  to 
exhibit  the  physical  perfection  and  practise  the  military 
evolutions  of  a  nation  in  arms.  It  might  celebrate 
the  triumphant  return  of  an  Olympian  victor  to  his 
native  city,  as  did  many  of  the  dances  which  accom- 
panied the  extant  odes  of  Pindar.  The  chorus-songs 
of  Tragedy  and  Comedy  were  set  to  dances  of  a  sort  ; 
but  from  these  last  boys  seem  to  have  been  excluded. 

For  educational  purposes,  besides  the  dithuramboi 
already  mentioned,  the  two  most  important  classes  were 
the  War-dance  and  the  Naked-dance  {r^vfivoiraiUa)} 
In  the  War-dance  the  performers,  clad  in  arms,  imitated 
all  the  ways  in  which  blows  and  spears  might  be  avoided, 
now  bending  to  one  side,  now  drawing  back,  now  leap- 
ing in  the  air,  now  crouching  down  :  then,  again,  they 
acted  as  though  they  were  hurling  javelins  and  spears 
and  dealing  all  manner  of  blows  at  close  quarters.^ 
The  Kuretic  dance  in  Crete  was  very  similar;  the 
dancers  "  in  full  armour  beat  their  swords  against  their 
shields  and  leaped  in  an  inspired  and  warlike  manner."^ 
The  field-days,  when  teams  of  boys  and  "  packs  *'  of 
epheboi  fought  one  another  to  the  sound  of  music,  were 

*  Not  necessarily  nude,  for  'yv^xvbs  only  represents  the  absence  of  the  armour  used 
in  the  War-dance.  '^  Plato,  Laws,  815  a.  3  Lucian,  On  Dancing,  8. 


! 


CHAP.  IV        PHYSICAL  EDUCATION  147 

only  a  more  warlike  sort  of  dance.  In  fact,  war  and 
the  war-dance  were  as  closely  connected  in  Hellas  as 
war  and  drill  in  Modern  Europe.  The  Thessalians 
called  their  heroes  *' dancers*';  Lucian  quotes  an 
inscription  that  "the  people  set  up  this  statue  to 
Eilation,  who  danced  the  battle  well  "  :  *'  chief  dancer  " 
{TTpoopxwTrjp)  ^  was  a  dignified  title.  The  same  author 
observes  that  in  warlike  Sparta  the  young  men  learn 
to  dance  as  much  as  to  fight,  and  that  their  military 
and  gymnastic  exercises  alike  were  inextricably  mixed 
up  with  dancing.^ 

The  "Naked-dance"  was  to  gymnastics  what  the  war- 
dance  was  to  war.^  It  represented  the  movements  of 
the  palaistra  set  to  music,  accompanied  by  some  singing.^ 
The  style  was  solemn,  like  that  of  the  ifM/niXeca,  or 
dance  of  Tragedy.  It  was  performed  in  the  main  by 
boys,  as  the  name  yvfivoTratBia  implies  ;  but  grown  men 
also  took  part,  as  at  Sparta,  where  practically  the  whole 
male  population  danced  it  at  once.  Plato  seems  to 
mean  a  similar  type  by  his  "  peace-dance "  (in  the 
Laws),  which  is  to  be  a  thanksgiving  for  past  mercies 
or  a  prayer  for  continued  prosperity. 

In  the  regular  system  of  education  at  Athens,  it 
is  true,  the  boys  learned  only  to  sing  and  play,  not 
to  dance.  But  owing  to  the  perpetual  demand  for 
boys  from  each  of  the  ten  tribes  to  compete  at  the  great 
festivals  in  war-dances  and  dithyrambs,  dancing  must 
have  been  a  common  accomplishment.  These  com- 
petitors also  attracted  and  encouraged  a  large  number 
of  dancing-masters.     Any   boy  who   showed   promise 

^  Lucian,  On  Dancing;  8. 

^  The  dance  known  as  yvfxvoTraiSt.K'^  is  described  in  Athen.  631  b,  as  including 
representations  of  wrestling.  In  678  b,  c,  the  festival  of  the  rv/i//07rai5/at,  and  the 
dances  in  it  are  referred  to,  but  no  mention  is  there  made  of  wrestling. 

^  Athen.  6^0  d. 


148  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

as  a  dancer,  or  perhaps  even  as  a  singer  only,  would 
be  singled  out  by  the  agents  who  collected  choroi  for 
the  choregoi. 

Some^  rich  man,  let  us  call  him  Tisias,^  has  just 
been  appointed  choregos  of  the  Erechtheid  tribe  for 
the  war-dance  of  boys  at  the  Panathenaic  festival,  or 
a  boy-chorus  in  dithyrambs  at  the  Thargelia.  After 
drawing  lots  with  the  choregoi  of  other  tribes,  he  gets 
Pantakles  assigned  to  him  as  his  poet  and  music-master, 
to  teach  the  boys  :  he  might,  if  he  wished,  hire  at  his 
own  expense  extra  dancing-  and  music-masters.^  Tisias 
then  sends  for  Amunias,  whom  the  Erechtheid  tribe 
have  chosen  to  collect  their  choroi  and  keep  an  eye  on 
them  while  they  are  being  trained.  If  Tisias  bears  a 
bad  name  or  is  unpopular  with  his  tribe,  he  and  his 
agent  will  have  trouble  in  collecting  the  boys  ;  for  the 
fathers  will  refuse  to  give  them  up,  and  there  will  be 
fines  imposed  and  securities  taken,  before  the  chorus 
assembles.  But  as  a  rule  the  parents  will  accept  gladly  ; 
it  is  a  chance  of  a  free  education  for  a  month  or  so, 
for  Tisias  will  pay  all  expenses,  even  of  meals,  and  the 
State  supplies  the  teacher  ;  it  is  a  chance,  too,  for  the 
boy  to  distinguish  himself. 

Meanwhile,  Tisias  will  have  provided  a  suitable 
schoolroom,  in  his  own  house,  if  possible  ;  rich  men, 
to  whom  the  post  of  choregos  was  a  frequent  burden, 
would  keep  an  apartment  for  the  purpose.  If  he 
himself  is  busy,  he  will  depute  friends,  who  can  be 
trusted  to  swear  in  his  favour  before  the  Courts,  to 
watch  the  teaching  ;  the  agent  will  also  be  present.^ 
For  sometimes  accidents  occurred.     Once   a  boy  was 

*  This  sketch  is  drawn  chiefly  from  Antiphon,  The  Choreutes.  ^, 

*  Demos,  ag.  Midias,  533.  il 
"  Rivals  sometimes  tried  to  interrupt  the  lessons  or  bribe  the  teacher  (Demos.  Mid. 

535). 


CHAP.  IV       PHYSICAL  EDUCATION  149 

given  a  dose  to  drink,  to  improve  his  voice,  and  it 
killed  him.^ 

When  the  day  of  the  competition  came,  the  chorus 
would  be  suitably  dressed  at  Tisias'  expense  ;  he  might 
perhaps  allow  them  gold  crowns.^  There  might  be 
nine  other  choroi  entering  for  the  prize,  but  in  the 
time  of  Demosthenes  this  was  not  common.  The 
whole  Athenian  people  and  many  foreigners  would  be 
present  at  the  contest,  and  it  would  be  an  anxious  day 
for  choregos,  boys,  and  parents.  The  State  gave  the 
prizes,^  usually  a  tripod,  which  went  to  the  winning 
choregos,  who  would  set  it  up  in  some  public  place 
with  an  appropriate  inscription,  such  as — 

The  Oeneid  tribe  was  victorious  ;  a  chores  of  boys.  Eurei- 
menes,  son  of  Meleteon,  was  choregos.     Nikostratos  taught.* 

Or— 

Lusikrates,  son  of  Lusitheides  of  Kikunna,  was  choregos. 
The  boys  of  the  Acamantid  tribe  won.  Theon  played  the 
flute.     Lusiades  taught.     Euainetos  led.^ 

We  pass  to  the  position  which  riding  held  in 
Athenian  education.  The  two  richest  classes  in  the  . 
State  were  liable  to  service  in  the  cavalry.  They  had  to  I 
supply  their  own  horses,  which  were  examined  and,  if 
unfit,  rejected  ;  but  the  State  paid  them  a  sum  of  ^^8 
annually  for  maintenance  and  arms  in  time  of  peace.  As, 
however,  the  number  of  the  citizen  cavalry  never  rose 
above  1000,  the  whole  of  these  two  classes  can  never 
have  been  so  employed  at  once  :  the  remainder  served 
in  the  heavy  infantry.  The  two  Hipparchoi  elected  for 
the  year,  and  their  subordinates,  the   ten   Phularchoi, 

^  The  situation  of  Antiphon's  speech.  ^  Demos.  Mid.  520. 

*  Xen.  Hiero,  ix.  4.  ^  Be5ckh,  212.  *  Ibid.  221. 


I50  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

who  each  commanded  a  tribal  contingent,  on  coming 
into  their  office,  would  note  how  many  of  the  thousand 
who  had  served  in  the  former  year  were  no  longer 
liable  to  service  owing  to  age,  and  would  fill  up  the 
vacancies ;  they  would  also  make  good  those  gaps 
which  occurred  from  time  to  time  during  their  term  of 
office  owing  to  wounds  or  death  or  sudden  poverty. 
To  secure  a  recruit,  they  had  only  to  go  to  some 
rich  and  active  young  man  who  was  not  already 
serving ;  if  he  refused  to  be  enrolled,  they  could 
prosecute  him.  The  training  often  began  before 
eighteen,  for  Xenophon  speaks  of  persuading  the 
recruit's  guardians,^  from  whom  he  would  be  free  at 
that  age.  So  Teles  mentions  the  horse-breaker  as 
among  the  teachers  of  the  lad  in  the  secondary  stage 
of  education.  No  doubt  it  took  some  training  to 
make  an  efficient  cavalryman,  and  the  Hipparchoi 
liked  to  take  the  recruits  young  ;  but  to  keep  a  stud 
was  the  favourite  amusement  of  a  rich  young  Athenian* 
and  many  would  learn  to  ride  without  any  view  to 
military  efficiency.  As  the  Hellenes  rode  without 
stirrups,  mounting  was  one  of  the  great  difficulties  of 
the  young  rider,  and  figures  chiefly  on  the  vases. 
Often  they  used  the  long  cavalry-spear  as  a  vaulting- 
pole.^  Otherwise  a  groom  or  the  master  gave  the 
pupil  a  leg  up  :  on  a  vase  ^  in  the  British  Museum 
the  master  is  seen  simply  pushing  the  boy  into  his 
seat.  A  comic  poet,*  who  has  left  us  a  picture  of 
the  young  recruits  learning  to  ride  under  the  eye 
of  their  Phularchoi,  speaks  only  of  mounting  and 
dismounting.^     "  Go  to  the  Agora,"  says  the  speaker  to 

*  Xcn.  Hipparch.  i.  ii.  2  iHustr.  Plate  IX. 

'  Brit.  Mu8.  E  485.  4  Mnesimachos,  Hippotrophos  (Athen.  402  f). 

See  lUustr.  Plates  X.  a,  X.  b  and  the  Frontispiece  for  scenes  in  a  riding-school. 


CHAP.  IV        PHYSICAL  EDUCATION 


ifi 


his  slave,  "  to  the  Hermai,  where  the  phularchoi  keep 
coming,  and  to  the  pretty  disciples  whom  Pheidon  is 
teaching  to  mount  their  steeds  and  to  get  down  again." 
Xenophon,  among  much  sound  advice  to  the  young 
rider  about  buying,  training,  and  keeping  his  horse, 
gives  the  Hipparchos  the  following  suggestions  : — 

''Persuade  the  younger  men  to  vault  on  to  their 
horses.  It  will  be  best  if  you  supply  the  teacher  for 
this.  The  older  men  may  be  put  up  by  sorne  one  else 
in  the  Persian  way.  To  practise  the  men  in  keeping 
their  seats  over  difficult  country,  frequent  riding 
expeditions  are  a  good  thing,  but  will  be  unpopular. 
So  tell  your  men  to  practise  by  themselves  whenever 
they  are  in  the  open  country.  But  take  them  out 
yourself  occasionally  and  test  them  over  all  sorts  of 
ground.  Give  them  sham  fights  in  different  kinds  of 
country.  In  order  to  make  them  keen  about  throwing 
the  javelin  from  horseback,^  stir  up  rivalry  between 
the  different  squadrons  and  give  prizes  for  this  and  for 
good  riding  and  the  like.  Above  all  make  yourself 
and  your  attendant  gallopers  as  smart  as  possible."  ^ 

There  were  frequent  reviews  under  the  eyes  of  the 
Boule.  In  the  race-course  at  the  Lukeion  there  was  a 
sham  fight,  each  hipparchos  commanding  five  squadrons 
which  pursued  one  another,  and  then  charged  front 
to  front,  passing  through  the  gaps  in  one  another's 
lines.  They  had,  also,  to  wheel  in  line.  The  review 
was  followed  by  javelin-throwing.^  Another  review 
was  held  at  the  Akademeia,  on  a  course  with  a  hard 
soil  (o  eTTiKpoTos:) — good  practice  for  cavalry  intend- 
ing to  fight  in  rocky  Attica.     Here  they  had,  among 

1  The    mark    was    a    suspended    shield,    Brit.   Mus.   Prize-Amphora    7,    Room 
IV. 

2  A  rough  summary  of  Xen.  Hipparch.  i.  15-26. 
^  Xen.  Hipparch.  iii.  6. 


152  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

other  manoeuvres,  to  charge  at  full  gallop  and  suddenly 
come  to  a  halt.-^ 

One  of  the  attractions  of  the  cavalry  service  was 
the  great  Panathenaic  procession,  where  the  horsemen 
played  a  leading  part  :  an  idealised  picture  of  them 
may  be  seen  on  the  frieze  of  the  Parthenon.  Xenophon 
gives  a  series  of  directions  how  to  make  the  horses 
prance  and  hold  their  heads  up  on  this  great  occasion, 
and  suggests  devices  in  gait  which  will  attract  popular 
notice.  This  and  kindred  processions  must  have  made 
recruiting  for  the  cavalry  easy. 

Swimming  seems  to  have  been,  as  would  naturally 
be  expected,  an  exceedingly  common  accomplishment 
in  the  maritime  states  of  Hellas  ;  even  at  inland  Sparta 
the  boys  must  have  learnt  it  for  their  daily  plunge  in 
the  Eurotas.  According  to  tradition,^  there  was  a  law 
at  Athens  that  every  boy  should  be  taught  reading, 
writing,  and  swimming  :  the  proverb  for  an  utter  dunce 
was  ''  he  knows  neither  his  letters  nor  how  to  swim."  ^ 
Herodotos  distinctly  implies  that  all  Hellenes  knew 
how  to  swim.  "The  Hellenic  loss  at  Salamis,"  he 
says,  "  was  small.  For,  as  they  knew  how  to  swim 
(as  opposed  to  the  barbarians  who  did  not),  when 
their  ships  were  destroyed,  they  swam  over  to  the 
island."  *  He  takes  it  as  a  matter  of  course  that  every 
sailor  could  swim.  The  whole  crew  of  a  captured 
trireme  during  the  Peloponnesian  War  as  often  as  not 
jumped  overboard  and  escaped  by  swimming.^  In 
a  story  in  Athenaeus  the  boys  of  Lasos,  on  coming  out 
of  the  wrestling-school,  go  off  together  for  a  bathe 
and   begin  to   dive.     A  friend  of  Aristippos   used  to 

1  Xcn.  Hipparch.  iii.  14.         2  pg^j^^  ^^^  ^^^^  jj^  ^  3  pi^to^  Laivs,  689  d. 

*  Herod,  viii.  89.  ^  g^^^  Thuc.  iv.  25. 


CHAP.  IV        PHYSICAL  EDUCATION  153 

boast  to  him  of  his  diving.^  During  the  blockade 
of  Sphakteria  by  the  Athenian  fleet,  numbers  of 
Helots  swam  over  from  the  mainland  to  the  inland 
under  water. ^  Scanty  and  scrappy  as  they  are,  these 
details  show  that  swimming  must  have  been  taught 
to  most  boys,  at  any  rate  if  they  were  ever  likely  to 
serve  in  a  fleet.  Plato  twice  ^  uses  a  metaphor  drawn 
from  a  man  swimming  on  his  back,  showing  that  this 
method  was  known.  When  a  young  disputant  is  being 
severely  handled  in  a  discussion,  Sokrates  intervenes, 
"  wishing  to  give  the  boy  a  rest,  since  he  saw  that  he 
was  getting  a  severe  ducking  and  he  feared  that  he 
might  lose  heart.''  *  The  phrase  suggests  that  the  sight 
of  boys  learning  to  swim  was  familiar.  They  could 
learn  either  in  the  innumerable  creeks  and  bays  of  the 
sea,  or  in  the  lakes  and  rivers,  or  in  diving-pools.^ 
There  were  also  various  "gymnastic  games'*  which 
young  people  played  in  the  water  together  ;  ^  but  of 
their  nature  nothing  is  known. \ 

It  cannot  reasonably  be  doubted  that  in  the  maritime 
states  a  large  proportion  of  the  boys,  at  any  rate  of  the 
lower  classes,  were  taught  to  row^  since  each  trireme 
required  a  crew  of  200,  nearly  all  of  whom  had  to  use 
the  oar.  In  the  good  old  days,  according  to  the 
Wasps^  the  main  object  was  to  be  a  good  oar,"^  and 
rowing-blisters  were  a  sign  of  patriotism.^  In  an 
emergency,  the  Athenians  could  make  the  whole  citizen 
force  under  a  certain  age  embark  on  the  fleet  and  could 
win  a  victory  with  these  rowers  ;  this  would  have  been 
impossible  if  the  average  citizen  had  been  ignorant  of 
rowing.^     On  such  occasions  many  even  of  the  Hippeis 

^  Diogenes  Laert.  ii.  8.  73.  2  Thuc.  iv.  26. 

'  Plato,  Rep.  529  c  ;  Phaidr.  264  A.  ^  Plato,  Euthud.  277  D. 

°  Plato,  Rep.  453  D.  6  Galen,  de  loc.  aff.  iv.  8.     See  Grasberger,  i.  151. 

'  Aristoph.  JVazps^  1095.  »  /^/^^  1119.  9  Xen.  Hellen.  i.  6.  24. 


154  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

embarked  :  Aristophanes  jestingly  asserts  that  in  an 
expedition  to  Korinth  the  horses  tried  also,  shouting, 
"  Gee-ho,  put  your  backs  into  it.  Do  more  work, 
Dobbin."^  Before  the  close  of  the  war,^  Charon,  the 
ferryman  of  Styx,  assuming  that  every  Hellene  knows 
the  way  to  row,  makes  the  souls  of  the  departed  row 
themselves  across.  Boat-races  were  certainly  known  at 
this  period.  A  client  of  Lusias  asserts  that  he  has  won 
a  race  with  a  trireme  off  Cape  Sounion.^  Probably  the 
trierarchoi,  the  rich  men  appointed  to  fit  out  the  State 
navy,  either  voluntarily  or  by  regular  custom,  made  the 
ships  race  one  another.  Thus  the  races  would  be  as 
much  inter-tribal  contests  as  the  dithyrambs  or  torch- 
races.  Two  crews  of  the  epheboi  of  a  later  date  used 
to  race  in  the  two  sacred  triremes.  The  vessels  sailing 
out  for  the  Sicilian  expedition  raced  as  far  as  Aigina.* 
A  fragment  of  Plato  the  comic  poet  ^  refers  to  similar 
contests  : 

Thy  high-heaped  tomb  on  this  fair  promontory 
Shall  take  the  greetings  of  our  far-flung  fleets, 
And  watch  the  merchants  sailing  out  and  in, 
And  be  spectator  when  the  galleons  race. 

EXCURSUS   I 

The  "  gumnasiarchoi "  have  created  some  confusion  among 
those  who  have  discussed  Attic  ways.  Some  authorities  would 
make  them  rich  men  performing  a  "  leitourgia  "  and  holding  a 
similar  position  to  the  trierarchoi  and  choregoi  :  others  make 
them  officials  appointed  to  superintend  the  gymnasia. 

The  gumnasiarchia  is  certainly  reckoned  among  leitourgiai 
as  a  general  rule.  A  speaker  in  Lusias,^  giving  a  list  of  these 
duties  which  he  had  performed,  says  :   "  I  supplied  a  chorus  of 

^  Aristoph.  Knights,  600.        ^  Aristoph.  Frogs,  200-271,  describes  a  rowing  lesson. 
2  Lus.  21.  5.  4  Thuc.  vi.  32. 

*  Plut.  Themist.  32.  ^  Lusias,  speech  21.  1-2. 


CHAP.  IV        PHYSICAL  EDUCATION  155 

men  at  theThargelia,  a  chorus  of  war-dancers  at  the  Panathenaia, 
a  cyclic  chorus  at  the  little  Panathenaia,  I  was  Gumnasiarchos 
for  the  Prometheia  and  was  victorious,  then  choregos  with  a 
chorus  of  boys,  then  with  beardless  war-dancers  at  the  little 
Panathenaia."  In  Andokides^  a  gumnasiarchos  at  the 
Hephaisteia  is  mentioned.  The  author  of  the  treatise  on  the 
Athenian  constitution  says  :  ^  "In  the  case  of  the  choregiai, 
gumnasiarchiai,  and  trierarchiai,  the  Athenians  reahse  that  the 
rich  fill  the  offices  and  the  populace  serve  under  them  and  get 
the  benefit.  So  the  populace  claims  to  be  paid  for  singing  and 
running  and  dancing  and  sailing  in  the  ships."  Now  "  singing 
and  dancing"  belong  to  the  choregiai,  and  "sailing  in  the 
ships"  to  the  trierarchiai.  So  "running"  is  left  for  the 
gumnasiarchiai.  The  main  feature  of  the  yearly  festivals  of 
Hephaistos  and  Prometheus,  which  the  two  earlier  passages 
gave  as  the  scene  of  the  duties  of  the  gumnasiarchos,  was  a 
torch-race.  It  may  thus  be  inferred  that  the  duty  of  the 
gumnasiarchos  was  to  collect,  and  train,  a  team  of  his  own 
tribe  for  the  torch -race  at  these  festivals.^  In  connection 
with  this  duty,  they  could  prosecute  members  of  their  team, 
or  any  one  who  interfered  with  them,  for  impiety  before  the 
Archon  Basileus,^  since  the  race  was  a  religious  function. 
They  were  thus  in  the  sacrosanct  position  which  Demosthenes 
as  choregos  claims  for  himself  in  his  speech  against  Meidias. 

So  far  the  gumnasiarchos  is  an  ordinary  performer  of  a 
leitourgia,  and  his  duties  are  confined  to  providing  a  tribal 
team  for  the  torch-races  at  the  Prometheia  and  Hephaisteia. 
His  team,  usually  at  any  rate,  consisted  of  epheboi,  as  we  learn 
from  an  inscription  describing  the  victory  of  Eutuchides  with 
his  epheboi.^ 

There  is  also  the  law  quoted  as  Solon's  in  Aischines' 
speech  against  Timarchos.^     "  The  gumnasiarch<?/  (note  that 

^  Andok.  17.  20.  2  [Xen.]  Constit.  of  Atlien.  i.  13. 

^  So  yvfivaa-Lapxeip  XayUTrdSt. — Isaios,  Philoktemon,  62.  60. 

yv/Mvaa-iapxeiadat  iv  tols  \afnrd<Ti.v. — Xen.  Re-venues,  4-52- 

Xd/iwdSi  viK-Z/a-as  yv/iva<napx^v. — B5ckh,  257. 
^  Dem.  ag.  Lakritos^  940  j  Aristot.  'A^.  IIoX.  57. 
^  B5ckh,  243.  8  Aesch.  Tim.  12. 


156  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti. 

it  is  a  different  word)  are  not  to  allow  any  one  over  age  to 
keep  company  with  the  boys  at  the  festival  of  Hermes  in  any 
way  whatsoever :  if  he  does  not  keep  all  such  persons  out  of 
the  gymnasia,  the  gumnasiarch^j  shall  be  liable  to  the  law  that 
prescribes  penalties  for  those  who  corrupt  free  boys."  But  the 
orator  himself  only  mentions  paidotribai,  and  special  enact- 
ments dealing  with  the  Hermaia ;  there  is  no  mention  of  a 
gumnasiarches.  The  law  itself  is  an  addition  made  in  a  later 
period  when  there  was  a  special  officer  to  control  the  gymnasia. 
But  there  is  no  evidence  for  such  an  official  in  the  days  of  the 
independence  of  Hellas. 

One  interesting  passage  remains.  "  I  was  gumnasiarchos 
in  my  deme,"  or  country  district,  says  a  speaker  in  Isaios.^ 
There  must  therefore  have  been  local  torch-races,  for  which 
rich  men  were  called  upon  to  pay  and  train  teams,  just  as  there 
were  certainly  local  theatrical  performances.  The  passage 
opens  up  a  prospect  of  vigorous  athletic  life  throughout  the 
country  districts  and  villages  of  Attica. 

^  Isaios,  Meneklesy  §  42.    See  Wyse's  edition  on  the  passage. 


CHAPTER   V 

SECONDARY    EDUCATION  :     I.    THE    SOPHISTS 

At  fourteen  or  soon  after,  it  was  usual  for  the  ordinary 
course  of  letters  and  lyre-playing  to  terminate  :  the 
gymnastic  lessons  might  be  carried  on  till  old  age 
interrupted  them.  During  the  first  three-quarters  of  the 
fifth  century,  the  lad,  on  leaving  school,  was  left  to  live 
more  or  less  as  he  pleased,  if  he  was  rich  enough  not  to 
have  to  work  for  his  living  :  the  sons  of  poorer  citizens 
at  this  age,  if  not  before,  settled  down  to  learn  a  trade 
or  engaged  in  merchandise.  Rich  boys,  no  doubt,  spent 
most  of  their  time  in  athletic  pursuits  ;  riding  and 
chariot-driving  were  favourite  amusements.  But  with 
the  Periclean  age  arose  a  violent  desire  for  a  further 
course  of  intellectual  study,  and  a  system  of  secondary 
education  arose,  to  occupy  the  four  years  which 
elapsed  between  the  time  when  the  lad  finished  his 
primary  education  and  the  time  when  the  State 
summoned  him  to  undergo  his  two  years  of  military 
training. 

Many  of  the  primary  schools  of  the  better  sort 
started  courses  of  study  for  lads,  providing,  no  doubt, 
separate  class-rooms,  or  else  the  younger  boys  attended 
at  different  hours  from  those  at  which  the  elder  pupils 
assembled.  Probably  some  such  provision  had  been 
made  much  earlier  for  those  who  wished  to  obtain   a 

157 


158  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

more  advanced  knowledge  of  literature  and  music 
than  was  offered  by  the  primary  schools.  But  in  the 
time  of  Sokrates  many  masters  seemed  to  have  held 
classes  for  lads  as  well  as  for  boys.  On  entering  the 
schools  of  Dionusios,^  the  master  of  letters,  Sokrates 
finds  a  class  of  lads  assembled  here.^  They  all  belong 
to  noble  families  :  the  poor  were  no  doubt  unable  to 
afford  education  of  this  sort.  Two  of  the  lads  were 
busy  discussing  a  point  of  astronomy,  and  were  quot- 
ing the  authority  of  Oinopides^  and  Anaxagoras,  for 
Sokrates  catches  these  two  names  as  he  enters  the 
room.  They  were  drawing  circles  on  the  ground  and 
imitating  the  inclination  of  some  orbit  or  other  with 
their  hands.  This  scene  shows  a  much  more  advanced 
sort  of  study  than  was  usual  at  the  primary  school  of 
letters.  The  Sophists  seem  to  have  often  lectured  in 
class-rooms. 

More  often  secondary  education  was  imparted,  not 
in  the  regular  schools  by  regular,  established  masters, 
but  by  the  wandering  savants,  who  taught  every  con- 
ceivable subject,  and  were  all  grouped  together  under 
the  general  name  of  Sophists.*  From  this  category  the 
mathematicians  and  astronomers,  who  in  all  respects 
occupied  the  same  position,  are  often  excluded.  This 
is  due  to  the  authority  of  Plato,  who,  while  detesting 
the  other  subjects  taught  as  secondary  education,  had  a 
great  affection  for  mathematics  and  astronomy,  the 
only  subjects  which  he  prescribes  for  lads  in  the 
Republic  and  Laws.  But  Aristophanes,  taking  a 
more  logical  position,  includes  geometry  and  astronomy 

^  Plato's  own  schoolmaster,  Diog.  Laert.  iii.  5. 

^  [Plato]  Lovers,  132.  ^ 

'  Reputed  inventor  of  Euclid  i.  12  and  23,  and  a  great  astronomer.  " 

*  Thus   the  lad  'Theages,  who  has  learnt  letters,  lyre-playing,  and  wrestling,  is 
vaguely  in  search  of  a  Sophist,  to  make  him  "  wise  "  ([Plato]  Theages,  121  d,  122  e). 


cHAP.v       SECONDARY  EDUCATION  159 

among  the  subjects  taught  by  the  burlesque  Sophists 
of  the  Clouds.  In  point  of  fact,  secondary  educa- 
tion included  any  subject  that  the  lad  or  his  parents 
desired  ;  and  the  wandering  professors  who  imparted 
it,  and  even  established  teachers  like  Isokrates,  who 
kept  permanent  secondary  schools  at  Athens,  were  all 
alike,  in  the  popular  view.  Sophists. 

But  the  more  important  subjects  do  naturally  fall* 
into  two  great  groups.  Mathematics  and  Rhetoric. 
Mathematics,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  Republic y 
meant,  as  a  part  of  secondary  education,  the  Science  of 
Numbers,  Geometry,  and  Astronomy,  with  a  certain 
amount  of  the  theory  of  Music,  which,  owing  partly  to 
Pythagorean  traditions,  was  classed  with  mathematics. 
We  have  already  seen  a  class  learning  Astronomy. 
Plato,  in  the  Theaitetos^  supplies  a  sketch  of  a  lesson 
in  more  advanced  arithmetic,  which,  by  Hellenic  custom, 
was  usually  expressed  in  geometrical  terms  in  order  to 
obtain  the  assistance  of  a  diagram.  The  lad  Theaitetos 
says  to  Sokrates  that  Theodorus  of  Kurene,  the  great 
contemporary  mathematician,  had  been  teaching  him. 
"  He  was  giving  us  a  lesson  in  Roots,  with  diagrams, 
showing  us  that  the  root  of  3  and  the  root  of  5  did  not 
admit  of  linear  measurement  by  the  foot  (that  is,  were 
not  rational).  He  took  each  root  separately  up  to  17. 
There,  as  it  happened,  he  stopped.  So  the  other  pupil 
and  I  determined,  since  the  roots  were  apparently 
infinite  in  number,  to  try  to  find  a  single  name  which 
would  embrace  all  these  roots. 

**  We  divided  all  number  into  two  parts.  The  number 
which  has  a  square  root  we  likened  to  the  geometrical 
square,  and  called  *  square  and  equilateral'  {e.g,  4,  9, 
16).     The  intermediate  numbers,  such  as  3  and  5  and 

1  Plato,  Theait.  147  d. 


i6o  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

the  rest  which  have  no  square  root,  but  are  made  up 
of  unequal  factors,  we  likened  to  the  rectangle  with 
unequal  sides,  and  called  rectangular  numbers."  And 
so  on.  As  the  pupils  apply  the  same  principle  to 
cubes  and  cube  roots,  Theodorus  must  have  initiated 
them  into  the  mysteries  of  solid  geometry  also. 

Here  we  find  a  professor  lecturing  to  a  select  class, 
in  this  case  of  only  two  lads,  and  his  pupils,  as  in  the 
class-room  of  Dionusios,  discussing  and  elaborating 
among  themselves  afterwards  the  subject-matter  of  the 
lecture.  Theodorus  is  mentioned  as  teaching  Geometry, 
Astronomy,  and  the  theory  of  Music,  as  well  as  the 
Science  of  Numbers.  Geometry  by  this  time  included 
a  good  number  of  the  easier  propositions  which  were 
afterwards  incorporated  in  the  works  of  Euclid  ;  the 
school  of  Pythagoras,  and,  later,  that  of  Plato,  did 
much  to  develop  it.  The  problem  of  squaring  the 
circle  was  already  occupying  attention.^  Compasses 
and  the  rule  were  the  ordinary  geometrical  implements  : 
diagrams  were  drawn  on  the  ground,  on  dust  or  sand. 
In  Arithmetic  surds  ^  were  a  popular  subject  :  but 
arithmetical  problems,  being  usually  expressed  in  terms 
of  geometry  plane  or  solid,  become  as  a  rule  a  part  of 
the  latter  science. 

To  Plato  these  mathematical  studies  are  alone  suit- 
able for  secondary  education  :  the  philosopher  Teles,^ 
carrying  on  the  same  tradition,  makes  arithmetic  and 
geometry  the  special  plagues  of  the  lad.*  But  then  the 
philosophers  despised  Rhetoric. 

Rhetoric,  from  the  time  of  Gorgias  onwards, 
formed    a   very   large    part    of    secondary   education. 

1  Aristoph.  Birds,  1005. 

2  Plato,  Hipp.  Maj.  303  b.  »  gj-ob^  ^g^  p_  ^^^^ 

*  And  learning  to  ride.     He  is  thinking  of  the  aristocratic  lad,  who  would  after- 
wards enter  the  later  exclusive  ephebic  college. 


CHAP.  V       SECONDARY  EDUCATION  1 6 1 

Isokrates  was  its  greatest  professor.  He  provided  in 
hi^  school  a  course  of  three  or  four  years  for  lads,  to 
occupy  their  time  till  they  were  epheboi.  But  the 
methods,  the  aims,  and  the  personaUty  of  this  interest- 
ing professor  will  be  discussed  later. 

Besides  mathematics  and  rhetoric,  there  were  liter- 
ary studies.  The  Axiochos  gives  KpiTiKol  among  the 
teachers  of  a  lad.  These  are  the  lecturers  on  literary 
subjects,  who  concerned  themselves  with  interpreta- 
tions, often  far-fetched,  of  the  poets  ;  a  summary  of  the 
literary  discussion  in  the  Protagoras  may  give  some 
idea  of  such  a  lesson. 

"Protagoras.  I  consider  that  it  is  a  most  im- 
portant part  of  a  man's  education  to  be  skilled  in  poetry  ; 
to  understand,  that  is,  what  is  rightly  said,  and  what  is 
not,  by  the  poets.  Simonides  says  to  Skopas,  son  of 
Kreon  the  Thessalian, '  To  become  indeed  a  good  man  is 
hard,  a  man  foursquare,  wrought  without  blame  in  hands 
and  feet  and  mind.'  You  know  the  poem  ?  Do  you 
know  then  that  farther  on  in  the  same  poem  he  says, 
*  But  the  saying  of  Pittakos,  wise  though  he  was,  seems 
to  me  not  said  aright  :  he  said,  "  'Tis  hard  to  be 
noble.'' '  Don't  you  see  that  the  poet  has  contradicted 
himself.?" 

Sokrates  replies  by  distinguishing  **  being "  from 
"becoming,"  and  suggests  that  %a\67ro9  (hard)  may 
mean  not  "  difficult "  but  "  bad."  He  then  gives  a 
lecture  in  his  turn.  He  picks  out  a  ^ikv  in  the  first  line 
and  puts  it  into  a  most  unwarrantable  position  in  his 
translation,  and  makes  "  indeed  "  go  with  "  hard."  To 
become  good  is  difficult  but  possible,  to  be  and  remain 
good  quite  impossible.  Hence  Simonides  goes  on  to 
say  that  he  is   quite  satisfied  with  those  who  do  no 

M 


1 62  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

positive  harm.  Sokrates  also  notes  a  philological  point, 
that  iiralvrjfjbL  in  the  poem  is  a  Lesbian  Aeolic  form, 
justified  because  the  poem  is  addressed  to  a  citizen  of 
Mitulene.  It  may  be  remarked  that  Hippias  also 
possessed  a  lecture  on  the  subject.  A  lecture  on 
Homer  by  a  Sophist  is  mentioned  by  Isokrates  :  such 
lectures  were  frequently  given  by  the  rhapsodes. 

Grammar  was  also  taught,  and  the  right  use  of 
words.  Less  usual  subjects  were  geography,^  art,  and 
metre.  Logic  was  in  its  infancy,  but  the  growing  lad 
could  practise  himself  in  argument  by  listening  to  the 
disputes  of  the  dialecticians.  Current  conversation  was 
full  of  ethical  and  political  discussions  :  in  the  fourth 
century  there  were  the  philosophical  schools  of  Plato 
and,  later,  of  Aristotle,  and  the  lectures  of  Antisthenes 
the  cynic  in  Kunosarges  ;  and  Isokrates  taught  political 
science.  Lads  seem  to  have  been  expected  to  learn 
something,  at  any  rate,  of  the  laws  of  their  country  :  no 
doubt  they  were  taken  up  to  the  Akropolis  to  read 
Solon's  code  :  occasionally  they  may  have  been  present 
as  spectators  in  the  law-courts,  in  order  that  they  might 
gain  an  idea  of  legal  procedure.  Those  who  intended 
to  become  speech-writers  for  the  courts  would  doubtless 
learn  more  :  they  would  also  attend  some  well-known 
writer  like  Lusias  or  Isaios,  and  learn  the  art  of  forensic 
rhetoric. 

It  must  be  clearly  understood  that  the  whole  of  this 
secondary  education  was  purely  voluntary.  The  parent 
need  not  send  his  lad  to  hear  any  teaching  of  the  sort : 
the  poorer  classes  certainly  would  not.  The  richer 
parents  could  choose  what  subjects  they  or  their  sons 

Among  the  common  amusements  of  Athenian  dinner-parties  was  a  geographical 
game,  in  which  A  gave,  say,  the  name  of  a  city  in  Asia  beginning  with  K,  and  B  had 
to  reply  with  one  in  Europe  beginning  with  the  same  letter  (Athen.  457). 


CHAP.  V       SECONDARY  EDUCATION  163 

preferred  :  rhetoric  or  literature,  geography  or  mathe- 
matics— it  was  all  one  to  the  State.  Teachers  came  and 
went  :  few  stayed  in  Athens  long.  Their  pupils  had 
either  to  follow  them  abroad,  as  Isokrates  went  to 
Gorgias  in  Thessaly,  or  wait  for  their  next  visit.  It 
was  only  the  schools  of  Isokrates,  of  the  great  philoso- 
phers, and  of  a  few  speech-writers  like  Lusias  and  Isaios, 
that  had  any  permanence  in  Athens.  Isokrates  himself 
had  taught  in  Chios  for  a  time  :  Plato  was  more 
than  once  in  Sicily,  and  his  school  had  to  do  without 
him  in  his  absence.  There  is  a  peculiar  fluidity  about 
secondary  education  in  Hellas  :  the  teachers  are  always 
on  the  move.  Endowed  buildings  for  them  there  were 
none  :  they  taught  in  their  own  houses  and  gardens,  or 
in  those  of  rich  hosts,  or  in  school-rooms  borrowed  for 
the  occasion,  or  in  public  resorts  like  the  gymnasia,  or 
even  in  the  streets.  Consistent  or  continuous  instruction 
was  the  exception  :  the  Sophists  proper  gave  it  only  to 
a  few.  The  average  lad  at  this  time  naturally  acquired 
a  wide  and  superficial  knowledge  of  a  great  number  of 
subjects,  just  the  amount  of  knowledge  which  is  such  a 
dangerous  thing.  The  lads  became  Jacks-of-all-trades  : 
Plato,  struck  with  the  educational  error  of  wide  super- 
ficiality, wrote  the  Republic  as  a  counterblast,  preach- 
ing "  One  man,  one  trade."  This  protest  is  largely 
directed  against  the  specious  superficiality  of  the  Sophists' 
teaching. 

Consequently,  secondary  education  fell  into  two 
halves,  the  fluid  teaching  of  the  wandering  Sophists  and 
the  continuous  teaching  of  the  more  stationary  schools 
of  Plato  and  Isokrates.  It  will  be  convenient  to  accept 
this  division,  and  take  the  fluid  half  first.  In  subjects, 
the  two  must  overlap  one  another  :  the  Sophists  taught 
logic  as  much  as  Plato,  rhetoric  as  much  as  Isokrates, 


1 64  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

and  universal  information  of  very  much  the  same  range 
as  Aristotle.  But  the  method  was  different,  just  because 
as  a  rule  the  Sophist  was  here  to-day  and  gone  to- 
morrow, while  the  stationary  teachers  taught  the  same 
pupils  for  several  years  together  and  could  study  their 
particular  idiosyncrasies,  and  the  value  of  education 
depends  very  largely  on  the  teacher's  understanding 
of,  and  sympathy  with,  the  individual  boys  whom  he 
teaches. 

It  is  of  interest  to  trace  the  development  of  the  term 
Sophia  and  of  the  Sophists  who  professed  it. 

The  earliest  thoughts  of  the  Hellenic  peoples  were 
enshrined  in  hexameter  verse.  Homer  and  Hesiod 
represent  the  science  and  philosophy,  as  well  as  the 
religion,  of  their  age.  The  poetical  tradition  survived 
in  philosophy  as  late  as  Parmenides  and  Empedokles  ; 
the  last  trace  of  it  may  perhaps  be  found  in  the  myths 
of  Plato.  The  religious  and  ritual  thinkers  and  the 
composers  of  oracles  also  employed  verse.  Consequently 
"  wisdom,"  in  the  earliest  Hellenic  literature,  is  mainly 
associated  with  poetry  and  music,  and  the  words  aocpo'c 
and  cro^KTTa'L  are  applied  indiscriminately  to  poets.^ 
This  sense  of  a-o^ca-rij^;  survived  in  later  times,  and 
Protagoras  could  call  Homer,  Hesiod,  Mousaios, 
Orpheus,  and  Simonides  all  alike  by  this  title.  Orpheus 
is  so  styled  in  the  Rhesos,  Phrunichos  called 
Lampros  the  musician  a  *' hyper-sophist,'*  and  Athe- 
naeus  declares  that  Sophist  was  a  general  title  for  all 
students  of  music. 

A  second  use  of  the  word  "  wise  man "  had  also 
existed  from  the  earliest  times,  by  which  it  had  been 
applied  to  those  who  were  skilful  in  some  particular 

1  Find.  hthm.  5  (4)  36.     (To<f)i<TTai  j  (ro<j>bi.  Find.  01.  i.  15  5  Pyth.  i.  42.     <ro0ta, 
Hymn  to  Hermes^  and  Find.  01.  i.  187. 


cHAP.v       SECONDARY  EDUCATION  165 

craft,    such    as    carpentering/    medicine,^    or   chariot- 
driving.^ 

The  "  Seven  Sages "  also  received  the  name  of 
Sophist,*  and  in  their  age  the  cognate  words  o-o<^o9  and 
aocpla  became  connected  with  practical  and  political 
wisdom.^ 

Then  the  rise  of  education  in  Hellas,  in  which  these 
old  poets  and  thinkers  were  largely  employed,  and  the 
analogy  of  the  other  educational  titles  with  similar 
endings,  ypafifiaTicrTyf;  and  KtOapiaTrj^y  gave  the  word 
(To<j)La-TT](;  an  association  with  the  teaching  profession. 
Scientific  knowledge  was  beginning  to  accumulate. 
Sufficient  history  was  known  to  serve  as  a  foundation 
for  political  theory  and  precept.  Rhetoric  was  becom- 
ing an  essential  preliminary  to  political  life,  since,  with 
the  rise  of  democracy,  persuasion  became  the  dominat- 
ing influence  in  law-courts  and  assemblies.  The  desire 
for  knowledge  was  never  so  keen  as  during  the  latter 
half  of  the  fifth  century  in  Hellas.  With  the  demand 
came  the  men.  All  over  the  Hellenic  world  arose 
professional  teachers,  who  carried  the  knowledge,  which 
they  had  learnt  from  one  another  or  discovered  for 
themselves,  from  city  to  city.  Everywhere  their 
lectures  attracted  large  and  enthusiastic  crowds. 
Among  the  subjects  which  they  studied  and  taught 
may  be  mentioned  mathematics  (including  arithmetic, 
geometry,  and  astronomy),  grammar,  etymology, 
geography,  natural  history,  the  laws  of  metre  and 
rhythm,  history  (under  which  head  fell  also  mythology 
and  genealogies),  politics,  ethics,  the  criticism  of 
religion,  mnemonics,  logic,  tactics  and  strategy,  music, 
drawing  and  painting,  scientific  athletics,  and,  above  all, 

1  Horn.  //.  15.  412.  2  pind,  py(j,^  3_  ^5.  3  /^y^.  5.  154. 

■*  In  Isokrates,  Antid.  235.  **  As  in  Theog.  1074. 


1 66  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

rhetoric.  To  such  a  heterogeneous  collection  what 
name  could  be  given  but  "  wisdom,"  aocpca  ?  The 
name  Sophist  was  applied  indiscriminately  to  all  these 
secondary  teachers. 

There  are  several  interesting  accounts  of  these 
Sophists  in  extant  literature,  but  the  writers  are  always 
prejudiced  opponents. 

In  the  Clouds  of  Aristophanes,  the  Sophists  and  their 
pupils  are  represented  as  living  in  an  underground 
Thinking-Shop.  They  are  pale  and  squalid,  engaged 
in  all  sorts  of  researches.  Natural  history  is  represented 
by  the  important  question,  "  How  many  times  the 
length  of  its  own  foot  does  a  flea  jump  ?  "  a  problem 
which  is  solved  by  actual  experiment.  Later  in  the 
play  they  inquire  why  the  sea  does  not  overflow,  since 
the  rivers  are  always  running  into  it.  Scientific  instead 
of  mythological  explanations  of  thunder  and  lightning 
are  given.  There  is  religious  criticism  too,  such 
as  Xenophanes  had  uttered  long  before  :  "  If  Zeus 
imprisoned  his  own  father,  why  has  he  not  been 
punished  ? "  There  is  astronomy,  "  the  paths  and  orbit 
of  the  sun,"  and  a  hanging  basket  is  introduced  as  an 
observatory.  Geometry  and  compasses  are  mentioned. 
The  visitor  is  shown  a  map  of  the  world,  containing 
Euboia,  Lakedaimon,  and  Attica  on  a  large  enough 
scale,  it  would  seem,  to  mark  the  deme  Kikunna ; 
perhaps,  as  Strepsiades  expects  to  find  dikastai  on  it  at 
Athens,  it  had  pictures  of  elephants  and  monsters  in  un- 
known districts.  The  students  are  interested  in  metres 
and  rhythms.  The  poet  laughs  at  grammar,  forming 
"  cockess  "  as  the  logical  feminine  of  cock,  and  mak- 
ing the  chief  Sophist  object  to  feminine  nouns  with 
masculine  terminations.  It  is  suggested  that  the  pupils 
at  the  Thinking-Shop  are  dirty,  half-starved  vegetarians. 


I 


cHAP.v       SECONDARY  EDUCATION  167 

too  economical  to  go  to  the  hair-cutter  or  the  baths, 
abstaining  from  wine  and  the  gymnasia.  But  the  main 
point  attacked  by  Aristophanes  is  the  teaching  of 
Argument.  The  whole  object  of  learning  under  the 
Sophists  is,  according  to  him,  to  be  able  to  cajole  the 
dikastai  and  so  win  impunity  to  cheat,  and  to  have  an 
argument  to  justify  anything.  The  successful  scholars 
beat  their  fathers  and  mothers,  giving  logical  reasons 
for  their  behaviour  ;  they  refuse  to  go  to  school,  and 
are  too  clever  to  believe  or  accept  anything.  But  their 
intellectual  exhilaration  is  spasmodic  ;  they  have  been 
taught,  if  they  reach  a  difficult  problem,  to  jump  on  to 
something  else. 

A  vivid  sketch  of  Sophist -life  is  given  in  Plato's 
Protagoras.  Young  Hippokrates,  on  returning  to 
Athens  in  the  evening  after  pursuing  a  runaway  slave 
to  the  frontier,  hears  that  Protagoras  the  great  Sophist 
has  arrived  in  the  city.  Only  the  lateness  of  the  hour 
deters  him  from  rushing  off  to  find  Sokrates,  who  will 
give  him  an  introduction  to  the  teacher.  Next  morning 
he  comes  round  to  Sokrates'  house  long  before  it  is 
light,  bangs  and  shouts  at  the  door  in  his  excitement, 
and  announces  that  he  is  ready  to  spend  all  the  money 
which  he  and  all  his  friends  possess,  in  fees. 

They  go  off  to  the  house  of  Kallias,  where 
Protagoras  and  other  Sophists  are  staying.  The  porter 
is  so  worn  out  by  the  number  of  visitors  that  he  is 
distinctly  rude.  They  find  Protagoras  walking  up  and 
down  in  the  cloisters  of  the  house,  with  three  or  four 
listeners  on  either  side,  one  of  whom  is  learning  to  be  a 
Sophist  himself  Behind  follows  a  crowd,  mostly  com- 
posed of  the  foreigners  whom  he  draws  from  city  to 
city,  like  Orpheus,  with  his  magic  voice.  Another 
Sophist,  Hippias,  is  sitting  on  a  sort  of  throne  in  the 


1 68  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

opposite  part  of  the  cloisters  ;  around  him  on  benches 
are  a  number  of  inquirers,  who  were  asking  him 
questions  about  natural  science  and  astronomy.  A 
third  Sophist,  Prodikos,  is  in  a  side-building,  still  in 
bed,  covered  up  in  blankets.^  His  audience  sat  on 
neighbouring  beds.  The  whole  assemblage  finally 
collect  couches  and  benches  together  in  a  great  circle  to 
hear  a  discussion  between  Sokrates  and  Protagoras. 
Kallias,  the  host  on  this  occasion,  often  entertained 
Sophists  :  at  another  time  he  had  Gorgias  and  Polos 
in  the  house.  His  cloisters  must  have  provided  a 
favourite  lecture -room.  The  Sophists  also  haunted 
the  gymnasia.  The  discussion  in  the  Euthudemos 
takes  place  in  the  undressing -room  of  the  Lukeion  : 
the  two  Sophists  have  been  walking  in  the  cloister. 
Hippias  on  one  occasion  lectures  in  a  school-room,  on 
another  in  a  public  place  at  Olympia. 

Protagoras  was  the  first  of  these  teachers  to  take 
pay.  His  system  was  very  fair.  On  the  close  of  their 
course  of  instruction  his  pupils,  if  they  chose,  paid  the 
fee  for  which  he  asked  ;  otherwise,  they  went  into  a 
temple,  and,  after  taking  an  oath,  paid  as  much  as  they 
said  his  instruction  was  worth.^  Hippias  made  about 
j^6oo  in  a  very  short  time  in  Sicily,  receiving  some  ^80 
from  the  tiny  town  of  Inukos,  although  Protagoras 
was  also  lecturing  in  the  island  at  the  time.  Prodikos 
charged  £2  for  a  particular  lecture  on  correct  speech/ 
but  there  was  also  a  less  complete  form  of  it  which  cost 
only  lod.  ;  he  seems  to  have  been  noted  for  the  grada- 
tions in  his  charges,  for  there  were  also  lectures  at  5d., 
IS.  8d.,  and  3s.  4d.*  The  sum  which  Euenos  of  Paros 
asked  for  teaching  the  whole  duties  of  a  man   and  a 

1  He  was  an  invalid.  2  piato,  Protag.  328  c. 

^  Plato,  Krat.  384  b.  *  [PlacoJ  AxiocA.  366  c. 


cHAP.v       SECONDARY  EDUCATION  169 

citizen  was  ;^2o/  Probably,  however,  the  charges  of 
these  Sophists,  and  the  money  which  they  made,  were 
much  exaggerated  by  their  contemporaries.  Isokrates, 
the  pupil  of  Gorgias,  gives  a  much  lower  estimate. 
"None  of  the  so-called  Sophists,"  he  says,  "will  be 
found  to  have  collected  much  money.  On  the  contrary, 
some  passed  their  lives  in  poverty  and  the  rest  in  quite 
ordinary  circumstances.  The  richest  Sophist  within 
my  memory  was  Gorgias.  He  spent  most  of  his  time 
in  Thessaly,  the  most  prosperous  part  of  Hellas.  He 
lived  to  a  great  age  and  followed  his  profession  for  a 
great  many  years.  He  did  not  take  upon  himself  any 
public  burdens  by  settling  in  any  one  city.  He  did  not 
marry  or  have  children  to  bring  up.  Yet  with  all  these 
opportunities  of  growing  wealthy,  he  only  left  about 
;f  800  at  his  death."  ^  It  must  be  remembered  that  the 
Sophists  received  money  only  from  those  who  definitely 
enrolled  themselves  as  pupils  or  came  to  a  few  advertised 
lectures.  Hippias  lectured  at  Sparta  frequently,  and 
never  received  a  penny.  Any  one  might  go  and  ask  a 
Sophist  a  question,  and  would  almost  always  receive  a 
voluminous  answer.  The  eloquence  and  practical 
skill  of  these  men  were  also  always  at  the  disposal  of 
their  own  city.  Like  the  greater  Renaissance  scholars, 
Hippias,  Gorgias,  and  Prodikos  were  much  occupied 
in  going  on  embassies.  For  the  larger  part  of  their 
life-work  they  received  no  payment  whatever  ;  what 
they  actually  received  was  possibly  less  than  what  their 
philosophic  opponents  obtained  in  donations  from 
friendly  tyrants. 

At  any  rate,  their  fees  were  not  heavy  enough  to 
damp  the  ardour  of  their  pupils.  Young  men  left 
their   relations   and    friends   to    follow  Sophists   from 

^  Plato,  Apol.  iv.  20  B.  2  1^0^,  Antid.  156. 


I70  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

city  to  city.  These  enthusiastic  disciples  were  almost 
ready  to  carry  their  teachers  about  on  their  shoulders, 
so  great  was  their  affection  for  them.  Why  this 
enthusiasm.^  Partly  because  the  Sophists  were  men 
of  great  personal  charm.  Partly  because  in  that  age 
the  thirst  for  knowledge  was  unbounded.  Partly 
from  a  desire  to  learn  the  way  of  virtue,  which  the 
Sophists  claimed  to  teach.  But  the  most  potent  reason 
was  ambition.  The  young  wished  to  shine  in  conversa- 
tion, the  great  occupation  of  the  age,  and  to  be  able  to 
discuss  every  conceivable  topic  with  intelligence.  But 
education  was  also  the  road  to  political  success.  The 
Sophists  taught  systematic  rhetoric,  and  logic  of  a  sort. 
They  also  supplied  the  subject-matter  for  orations,  in 
their  practical  handling  of  political  science,  of  history, 
of  ethical  commonplaces  ;  for  a  public  oration  was 
expected  to  be  a  storehouse  of  erudition.  Rhetoric 
was  needful  not  only  for  power,  but  also  for  security  ; 
for  in  the  courts  it  had  more  influence  than  mere 
argument  and  facts. 

About  the  individual  Sophists  little  is  known.  They 
appear  for  us  only  in  the  pages  of  those  who  traduced 
them.  Plato  is  mainly  occupied  with  various  conclu- 
sions which  he  draws  from  their  philosophic  theories, 
which  were  not  a  part  of  their  teaching.  Protagoras,  the 
eldest  of  them,  a  most  dignified  personage,  set  himself 
to  train  good  citizens  :  he  claimed  that  he  enabled  his 
pupils  to  manage  their  households  and  govern  their 
states.  He  imparted  to  them  all  the  worldly  wisdom 
which  he  had  gained  by  long  years  of  personal  experi- 
ence. He  made  a  special  study  of  political  science,  no 
doubt  for  this  purpose,  and  left  a  treatise  upon  the 
subject,  which  was  sufficiently  excellent  for  a  certain 


CHAP.  V       SECONDARY  EDUCATION  1 7 1 

Aristoxenos  to  be  able  to  say  that  Plato  had  plagiarised 
most  of  the  Republic  from  it.^  Being  businesslike,  he 
favoured  clearness  of  thought,  and  studied  grammar  :  he 
was  the  first  to  separate  nouns  into  the  three  genders.^ 

Prodikos  belonged  to  the  same  practical  school.  He 
began  by  teaching  his  pupils  the  right  use  of  words.^ 
Thus  he  told  Sokrates  not  to  use  Setz/o?  when  he  meant 
"  clever "  ;  for  its  proper  meaning  was  "  terrible,** 
applicable  to  war,  disease,  or  the  like.*  There  is  an 
amusing  skit  on  his  pet  subject  in  Plato.^  The  audi- 
ence in  a  philosophical  debate  should  give  an  impartial 
but  not  an  equal  attention  to  both  speakers  ;  for  it  is 
not  the  same  thing.  For  it  is  right  to  give  an  impartial 
hearing,  but  you  ought  to  incline,  not  equally  towards 
both,  but  rather  towards  the  wiser  speaker.  I  also  ask 
you  to  agree,  and  to  discuss,  not  to  dispute.  For 
friends  discuss  with  friends  for  friendship's  sake,  but 
enemies  dispute.  In  this  way  our  meeting  will  be  best 
conducted.  For  you,  the  speakers,  would  thus  win 
from  the  audience  most  repute,  not  praise  (for  repute 
is  without  deception  in  the  minds  of  the  hearers,  but 
praise  is  an  outward  expression  of  what  is  often  not 
felt)  ;  and  we,  the  audience,  would  thus  receive  most 
happiness,  not  pleasure  ;  for  happiness  is  produced  by 
the  mental  reception  of  knowledge  and  wisdom,  pleasure 
by  eating  or  by  some  other  pleasant  physical  state." 
It  was  easy  to  laugh,  but,  as  Plato  himself  shows,  these 
distinctions  of  meaning  were  extremely  useful  in  meet- 
ing logical  quibbles,  and  were  much  needed  in  con- 
temporary logic.  Besides  this,  Prodikos  was  a  moral 
teacher,  and  composed  the  famous  Choice  of  Herakles, 

^  Diog.  Laert.  iii.  25. 

*  Aristot   Rhet.  iii.  3.  5.  ^  Plato,  Euthud.  277  e. 

*  Plato,  Protag.  341  a.  ^  Ibid.  337  a-c. 


172  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

in  which  he  inculcated  the  duty  of  hard  work  as  opposed 
to  a  life  of  laziness  and  pleasure.  He  was  an  invalid, 
but  worked  on  in  spite  of  ill-health  ;  the  result  was, 
perhaps,  a  certain  amount  of  pessimism. 

Hippias  was  a  marvellously  all-round  genius.  He 
once  came  to  the  Olympian  festival  with  everything 
that  he  wore  or  carried  made  by  himself,  ring,  oil  bottle, 
shoes,  clothes,  a  wonderful  Persian  girdle ;  he  also 
brought  epic  poems,  tragedies,  dithyrambs,  and  all  sorts 
of  prose-works.^  He  knew  astronomy,  geometry, 
arithmetic,  grammar.  At  Sparta  he  taught  history  and 
archaeology.  He  had  a  wonderful  system  of  mnemonics, 
by  which,  if  he  once  heard  a  string  of  fifty  names,  he 
could  remember  them  all.^  He  lectured  on  Homer 
and  other  poets.  He  also  composed  a  moral  discourse, 
which  won  great  applause  at  Sparta,  where  quibbles  or 
bad  morality  would  have  been  sternly  repressed  ;  it 
was  afterwards  delivered  in  an  Athenian  school-room. 
Hippias  was  always  ready  to  answer  any  question  which 
was  put  to  him,  and  was  rarely  at  a  loss. 

A  less  prominent  Sophist  was  Antiphon^  who  must 
be  carefully  distinguished  from  his  namesake  the  Attic 
orator.  He  published  works  on  physics,  on  concord 
(o//,oz/ota),  and  on  political  science.  The  fragments  are 
interesting,  and  show  some  popular  handling  of  ethical 
teaching.  The  following  extracts  ^  will  give  some  idea 
of  the  man  : — 

"  First  among  things  human  I  reckon  education. 
For  if  you  begin  anything  whatever  in  the  right  way, 
the  end  will  probably  be  right  also.  The  nature  of  the 
harvest  depends  upon  the  seeds  you  sow.     If  you  plant 

1  Plato,  Hipp.  Min.  368.  2  ^\^^q^  Hipp.  Maj.  and  Protag.  318. 

^  Quoted  in  the  Teubner  Antiphon  from  Stobaeus.    Flor.  98.  533.    Flor.  Appendix, 
1 6.  36.     This  Antiphon  comes  in  Xen.  Mem,  i.  6. 1. 


cHAP.v       SECONDARY  EDUCATION  173 

good  education  in  a  young  body,  it  bears  leaves  and 
fruit  the  whole  life  long,  and  no  rain  or  drought  can 
destroy  it." 

"Life  is  like  a  day's  sentry-duty,  and  the  length  of 
life  is  comparable  to  a  single  day.  While  our  day 
lasts,  we  look  up  to  the  sunlight,  then  we  pass  on  our 
duty  to  our  successors." 

*'  A  miser  stored  up  money  in  a  hiding-place,  and 
did  not  lend  or  use  it.  Then  it  was  stolen.  A  man  to 
whom  he  had  refused  to  lend  it  told  him  to  put  a  stone 
in  the  hiding-place  instead,  and  imagine  that  it  was 
money  ;  it  would  be  just  as  useful." 

Among  the  Sophists  were  some  apparently  who  were 
merely  jesters,  and  used  their  brains  solely  in  arousing 
laughter.  It  may  well  be  doubted  whether  the  account 
which  Plato  gives  of  Euthudemos  and  Dionusodoros  is 
true  to  life  ;  but  they  probably  represent  a  type.  As 
teachers,  no  sane  man  could  take  them  seriously.  They 
had  been  gladiators,  and  had  taught  forensic  rhetoric  ; 
afterwards  they  discovered  a  genius  for  quibbles.  They 
were  ready  to  make  out  any  statement  to  be  true  or 
false.  The  respondent  may  only  answer  "  Yes "  or 
*'  No,"  and  no  previous  statement  could  be  quoted 
against  them,  since  they  did  not  claim  to  teach  anything 
consistent.  A  sample  -^  of  their  arguments  will  make 
their  methods  clearer.  **  A.  Your  father  is  a  dog.  B. 
So  is  yours.  A.  If  you  answer  my  questions,  you  will 
admit  it.  Have  you  a  dog  ?  B.  Yes,  a  very  bad  one. 
A,  Has  it  puppies?  B,  Mongrels  like  itself.  A. 
Then  the  dog  is  a  father .?  B.  Yes.  A.  Isn't  the  dog 
yours  .f*  B.  Certainly.  A.  Then  being  yours  and  a 
father,  it  is  your  father,  and  you  are  the  brother  of 
puppies."     Absurd  as  it  is,  such  discussions  are  a  good 

1  Plato,  Euthud.  298  D. 


174  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

means  of  teaching  logic,  since  they  make  the  search  for 
rules  intellectually  compulsory. 

No  doubt  there  were  black  sheep  among  the  lesser 
Sophists,  to  whom  Plato's  bitter  definitions  in  the 
Sophist  were  quite  applicable,  who  were  "  hunters 
after  young  men  of  wealth  and  position,  with  sham 
education  as  their  bait,  and  a  fee  for  their  object,  making 
money  by  a  scientific  use  of  quibbles  in  private  conver- 
sation, while  quite  aware  that  what  they  were  teaching 
was  wrong."  But  they  do  not  appear  in  extant  litera- 
ture, which  has  only  recorded  a  very  few,  and  those  the 
very  pick,  of  the  hundreds  of  Sophists  that  there  must 
have  been  in  the  Socratic  age.^ 

The  Sophists  who  have  been  mentioned  so  far  have 
been  but  little  concerned  with  Rhetoric  :  they  form 
rather  a  school  of  Logic,  opposed  to  the  rhetorical  school 
of  Gorgias  and  his  followers. 

Of  the  rise  of  Rhetoric  in  Hellas  I  need  say  little  : 
the  whole  subject  has  been  admirably  treated  elsewhere.^ 
For  educational  purposes,  Hellenic  rhetoric  started  with 
several  fatal  drawbacks  and  some  counterbalancing 
advantages.  The  southern  nature  of  the  Hellenes  pre- 
ferred sensuous  charm  of  sound  to  logical  accuracy  of 
fact  ;  their  rhetoric,  arising  as  it  did  out  of  poetry,  and 
modelling  itself  upon  its  literary  parent,  pandered  only 
too  readily  to  their  taste.  With  truth  it  had  no  more 
to  do  than  Homer  had  ;  its  object  was  to  please  the  ear 
by  curious  rhythms,  balanced  clauses,  parisosis,  and  all 
other  possible  devices.  As  long  as  the  form  was  excel- 
lent, no  matter  how  trivial  the  subject  :  ^  mice  or  salt 

^  It  18  not  fair  to  condemn  Polos  and  Thrasumachos  on  the  score  of  the  opinions 
which  Plato  puts  into  their  mouths. 

2  Jebb,  Attic  Orators.  ^  Compare  Renaissance  poetry  in  Italy. 


CHAP.  V       SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


175 


were  good  enough  for  a  theme.  The  oration  must,  of 
course,  be  full  of  passion,  but  that  could  be  simulated  : 
rhetoric  had  inherited  the  legacy  of  acting  from  its 
parent.  Lyric  Poetry.  So  rhetoric  became  simply  a 
question  of  style,  not  of  argument ;  and  since  argu- 
ments were  not  required,  the  strength  or  weakness  of  a 
case  did  not  matter  :  rhetoric  could  make  any  cause 
attractive  to  a  sensuous  Hellenic  ear  by  its  tricks  of 
style,  and  thus  make  "  the  weaker  cause  the  stronger." 
The  method  by  which  its  professors  taught  their  pupils 
brought  out  this  attitude  clearly.  They  were  accustomed 
to  take  an  imaginary  case,  and  then  to  teach  their  pupils 
how  to  write  a  speech  on  either  side  of  it :  the  extant 
*'  Tetralogies "  of  Antiphon  are  examples  of  the 
method,  which  was  excellent  educationally  ;  for  it  is 
good  to  see  the  arguments  on  both  sides  of  a  case.  It 
was  the  carelessness  about  fact  and  indifference  to  truth, 
and  the  element  of  acting,  that  were  so  dangerous  to 
the  pupils.  These  elements  certainly  wrecked  the  justice 
of  the  Athenian  courts  ;  their  effect  on  Hellenic  char- 
acter was  probably  equally  unsatisfactory. 

Rhetoric  also  inherited  the  "  gnome  "  or  common- 
place, a  general  statement  about  ethics  or  politics  or 
what  not,  which  could  be  developed  into  a  sententious 
little  essay.  Budding  orators  learned  to  compose  a 
little  store  of  these  and  keep  them  ready  for  use,  to 
be  inserted  in  a  speech  whenever  an  opportunity 
occurred.  For  writing  these  essays,  a  certain  amount 
of  independent  thought  about  politics  and  ethics  was 
necessary  ;  and  both  the  thought  and  the  essay-writing 
were  no  doubt  good  for  the  lads. 

The  flowery  and  poetic  style,  which  was  the  main 
characteristic  of  early  Hellenic  rhetoric,  was  the  creation 
of  Gorgias.     A  fragment  of  a  funeral  oration,  in  which 


176  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

no  doubt  he  put  forth  all  his  powers,  may  be  given  as  a 
sample  of  the  sort  of  thing  which  his  pupils  learned  to 
write  : — 

"  As  witness  to  their  deeds  these  dead  set  up  trophies 
over  the  foe,  offerings  to  Zeus,  offered  by  themselves. 
They  were  not  unskilled  in  natural  Ares  nor  lawful 
loves  nor  armed  strife  nor  beauty-loving  Peace  ;  re- 
vering the  Gods  by  Justice,  honouring  their  parents  by 
Service,  just  to  their  countrymen  by  Equality,  faithful 
to  their  friends  by  Loyalty.  Therefore,  when  they  died, 
love  for  them  died  not  with  them,  but  deathless  in 
bodies  no  longer  bodies  it  lives  when  they  live  no 
longer."  In  the  Encomium  on  Helen  we  have  "  fright 
exceeding  fearful,  and  pity  exceeding  tearful,  and  yearn- 
ing exceeding  painful,"  and  "  productive  of  pleasure, 
destructive  of  pain."  In  the  Palamedes  Gorgias  even 
uses  puns. 

His  poetical  compounds  and  those  of  his  pupil 
Alkidamas  were  famous.  In  short,  at  this  time  there 
was  no  boundary  whatever  between  poetry  and  prose  : 
prose,  if  anything,  was  the  more  poetical  of  the  two. 

This  strange  hothouse  Euphuistic  style  of  Gorgias 
took  Hellas  by  storm,  and  his  influence  was  enormous  : 
it  even  half-mastered  the  austere  mind  of  Thucydides. 
As  reformed  by  the  greater  critical  faculties  of  his  pupil 
Isokrates,  it  became  the  parent  of  Ciceronian  Latin  and 
so  of  the  prose  literature  of  centuries. 

The  other  rhetorical  Sophists  of  the  time  are  less 
interesting.  Likumnios  and  Polos ^  teacher  and  pupil, 
seem  to  have  devoted  themselves  to  questions  of 
rhythm  :  they  employed  quaint  conceits  and  affectations, 
like  Gorgias.  Theodoros  and  Euenos  divided  and  sub- 
divided the  parts  of  an  oration  into  "confirmation"  and 
"  additional  confirmation,"  and  "  by-blames  "  and  "  by- 


cHAP.v       SECONDARY  EDUCATION  177 

panegyrics "  :  in  which  work  Polos  joined  them. 
Thrasumachos  of  Chalcedon,  who  seems  to  have  been  a 
bigger  man  altogether,  began  to  attack  the  psychological 
side  of  rhetoric  by  studying  the  questions  of  pathos  and 
indignation  ;  these  studies  he  embodied  in  pamphlets, 
and  no  doubt  his  results  were  imparted  to  his  pupils. 

One  of  the  beauties  of  old  Hellenic  education  had 
been  that  it  did  not  make  the  rich  a  class  apart  from 
the  poor  by  giving  a  widely  different  form  of  culture. 
The  rise  of  the  Sophists  changed  all  this  :  their  fees 
excluded    the   poor.     The    odium    of    resultant   class- 
separation  fell  upon  the  teachers.     Their  pupils,  rich, 
aristocratic,   and    cultured,  inclined  towards  oligarchy. 
Hellenic  sentiment  held  the  teacher  responsible  for  the 
whole  career  of  his  pupils.     So  for  this  reason  again  the 
democracies   regarded  the  Sophists  with  suspicion,   as 
the   trainers  of   oligarchs  and  tyrants.     It  was  chiefly 
because  he  had  been  the  teacher  of  Kritias  and  Alkibiades 
that  Sokrates  was  put  to  death  by  the  restored  demo- 
cracy.    The   persuasive  powers  which  the  rhetoricians 
gave  to  their  pupils   might   be,  and  often  were,  mis- 
used ;    the    pupils    might    mislead    the    Ekklesia    into 
bad  policy  or    the  law-courts  into  injustice   by  their 
eloquence.     However  much  the  Sophists  might  protest 
that  they  taught  only  rhetoric,  not  ethics,  they  were 
held  responsible  for  the  dishonesty  as  well  as  for  the 
eloquence  of  such  pupils.     Besides,  rhetoric  gave  the 
rich  man,  who  alone  could  buy  it,  a  most  undemocratic 
influence  in  the  State.     The  odium  against  the  Sophists 
was  increased  by  their   religious  and  political    views. 
They  were  free  thinkers  in  all  things.     Protagoras  was 
a  frank  agnostic  ;  Gorgias  believed  that  nothing  what- 
ever  existed.      Their   political    theories   were   equally 
revolutionary,  full  of  the  idea  of  Social  Contracts  and 

N 


178  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

the  right  of  the  one  strong  man.  All  this  was  ex- 
tremely distasteful  to  the  majority,  who  were  democratic 
and  orthodox.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that  no 
such  views  appeared  in  lectures :  they  were  confined  to 
an  occasional  book  or  to  private  conversation.  Out- 
wardly the  Sophists  were  law-abiding  and  respectable 
servants  of  the  constitution,  and  their  lectures  were,  if 
anything,  rather  commonplace. 

Thus  the  prejudice  against  them  was  excited  partly 
by  their  freethinking  and  partly  by  their  fees.  The 
first  of  these  two  reasons  applied  still  more  to  Sokrates 
and  the  philosophic  schools.  But  Sokrates  neither 
asked  nor  received  fees  :  Plato  and  Aristotle  only 
accepted  presents.  Consequently  when  the  philosophic 
party  tried  to  dissociate  themselves  in  the  popular  mind 
from  the  Sophists  with  whom  they  were  confounded, 
they  attempted  to  revive  the  old  Hellenic  prejudice 
against  taking  fees  for  "  wisdom,*'  which  had  given 
trouble  to  the  lyric  poets,  and  to  emphasise  the  money- 
making  aspects  of  the  Sophists'  profession.  This  rather 
absurd  appeal  to  the  gallery  has  influenced  posterity  ; 
but  it  did  not  win  universal  acceptation  in  Hellas. 
Aischines  still  calls  Sokrates  a  Sophist.  Under  the 
Roman  Empire  **  Sophist "  became  a  title  of  distinction 
applied  to  artistic  stylists  and  teachers  like  Libanius. 


CHAPTERJ,VI 

SECONDARY  EDUCATION  :    II.  THE    PERMANENT   SCHOOLS 

Athens  was  the  place  in  which  the  fluid  educational 
system  of  the  Sophists  would  naturally  begin  to  crystallise. 
Not  only  were  the  Athenians  the  keenest  and  most 
intellectual  of  the  Hellenes  :  owing  to  the  vast  trade 
of  their  city,  merchants,  astronomers,  inventors,  poets, 
thinkers  of  all  sorts,  poured  into  it,  and  men  of  all  trades 
and  all  tongues  collected  there.  Many  stayed  there  for 
a  few  days  only,  in  passing  ;  for  Athens  was  a  sort  of 
Clapham  Junction  in  those  days.  All  these  brought  a 
perpetual  supply  of  new  ideas  into  the  city,  which  the 
inhabitants  were  quick  to  assimilate. 

But,  possessing  all  the  advantages  of  a  commercial 
centre,  Athens  was  free  from  the  disadvantages.  The 
clamour  and  vulgarity  of  trade  were  confined  to  the 
Peiraieus  :  in  the  gymnasia  or  the  streets  or  the  colon- 
nades of  Athens  the  philosopher  and  the  thinker  could 
teach  and  meditate  in  peace,  in  an  atmosphere  ennobled 
by  her  treasures  of  architecture  and  art  and  sculpture, 
which  subdued  the  most  blatant  visitor,  amid  the  literary 
circles  which  her  dramatic  contests  attracted  and  en- 
couraged. Here  was  an  ideal  spot  for  the  meeting- 
place  of  the  best  minds  in  Hellas  and  the  growth  of  a 
great  educational  system.  The  city  was  an  education 
in  itself.      Perikles  had   called  Athens  the  school  of 

179 


i8o  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

Hellas  ;  the  name  was  now  to  be  justified  in  its  most 
literal  sense. 

Early  in  the  fourth  century  there  arose  established 
secondary  schools  in  Athens.  Plato  began  to  teach 
Logic  and  Philosophy,  Isokrates  Rhetoric,  not  for  a  few 
weeks  at  a  time,  but  permanently  :  their  courses  lasted 
three  or  four  years.  Characteristically,  there  was  no 
State  organisation  or  interference  ;  Isokrates  taught  in 
his  own  house,  near  the  Lukeion,  Plato  in  his  garden 
near  Kolonos  and  in  the  Akademeia.  Their  pupils  came 
from  all  parts  of  the  civilised  world,  staying  in  Athens 
during  their  course  of  study.  Plato  imposed  a  pre- 
liminary examination  in  mathematics  upon  his  pupils ; 
Isokrates  only  commended  a  knowledge  of  such  subjects. 
The  students  of  these  two  schools  became  recognised 
features  of  Athenian  life. 

Plato  led  his  pupils  towards  intellectual  research  and 
a  life  of  retirement ;  the  tendency  of  the  school  was 
markedly  aristocratic,  and  several  of  the  lads  became 
tyrants  in  after  life.  Isokrates  inculcated  the  practical 
life  :  his  teaching  was  meant  as  a  preparation  for  success 
in  society  and  politics.  But  as  his  school  naturally  was 
only  for  the  comparatively  wealthy  and  leisured  classes, 
it  also  tended  to  be  aristocratic  ;  however,  it  produced 
some  of  the  leading  democratic  statesmen  of  the  day. 

Besides  these  two  great  schools  others  grew  up.  It 
is  hard  to  distinguish  exactly  between  the  boys  who 
went  to  Isokrates  in  order  to  learn  political  speaking  . 
and  those  who  went  to  a  "  logographos "  like  Lusias  j 
or  Demosthenes  to  learn  forensic  oratory.  The 
"  logographoi "  do  not  seem  to  have  claimed  to  impart 
culture,  but  only  technical  instruction  :  they  are  thus 
on  the  boundary  line  of  education.  But  Demosthenes 
went  to  the  "  logographos  "  Isaios  to  get  precisely  the 


CHAP.  VI      SECONDARY  EDUCATION  i8i 

instruction  which  Isokrates  had  refused  him  :  so  it  is 
hard  to  make  a  clear  distinction.  I  shall  therefore  give 
a  short  sketch  of  the  "  logographoi  "  also.-^ 

By  the  time  that  these  schools  began  to  establish 
themselves  the  Sophists  were  beginning  to  die  out. 
Times  were  harder  in  the  fourth  century,  and  fewer 
people  had  money  to  spend  on  these  expensive  teachers. 
The  intellectual  movement  of  the  Periclean  age  had 
spent  itself,  and  the  desire  for  universal  knowledge  was 
no  longer  so  keen.  Moreover,  it  is  quite  probable  that 
settled  schools,  like  that  of  Isokrates  at  Athens,  were 
forming  in  many  of  the  great  centres  :  it  is  known  that 
Isokrates  himself  taught  for  a  while  in  Chios.  The 
great  demerit  of  the  Sophists'  teaching,  namely,  that  it 
was  too  much  in  a  hurry  and  gave  no  time  for  personal 
endeavour  on  the  part  of  the  pupil,  had  been  recognised  : 
and  the  result  was  that  the  Sophists  settled  down  in  a 
single  place  and  gave  continuous  courses  of  instruction. 

But  a  good  many  Sophists  of  the  old  type  remained, 
to  vex  Isokrates  by  their  criticisms  and  rivalries.  They 
still  came  to  Athens  at  the  great  festivals,  and  gave 
hurried  lectures.^  But  they  had  not  the  originality  of 
their  predecessors,  and  people  preferred  to  read  the 
works  of  Protagoras  or  Gorgias  for  themselves  to  hear- 
ing them  repeated  as  original  by  a  lecturer.  Books 
were  already  a  serious  rival  to  lecturing,  and  were  a 
cause  of  much  searching  of  heart  to  Plato  :  Isokrates, 
however,  preferred  to  write  himself  and  so  advertise  his 
school. 

Besides  the  wandering  Sophists  there  were  probably 
a   good    many   teachers,   both   of  Philosophy  and   of 

^  Isokrates  clearly  felt  them  to  be  his  educational  rivals.  See  Antid.  310  a,  and 
the  end  of  the  Paneg. 

2  There  is  a  sketch  of  them  in  Isok.  Panath.  236  c  ;  to  a  lecture  on  Homer 
three  or  four  of  them  had  appended  an  attack  upon  Isokrates. 


1 82  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

Rhetoric,  established  permanently  at  Athens.  Isokrates 
mentions  casually  that  all  the  schools^  produce  only 
two  or  three  first-class  speakers.  In  his  educational 
prospectus,  Against  the  Sophists^  he  criticises  these 
rivals  freely.  "  They  merely  try  to  attract  pupils  by 
low  fees  and  big  promises.  The  speeches  which  they 
write  themselves  are  worse  than  the  improvisations  of 
the  wholly  untrained,  yet  they  promise  to  make  a  com- 
plete orator  out  of  any  one  who  comes  to  them  ;  for 
they  make  no  allowance  for  natural  talent  or  for  experi- 
ence, but  regard  eloquence  as  an  exact  science,  just  like 
the  ABC  and  equally  communicable  ;  whereas  it  is 
really  a  progressive  art,  where  the  same  thing  must 
never  be  said  twice,  and  its  rules  must  be  relative  to  the 
occasion  and  the  circumstances."  ^  It  is  clear  that  these 
rivals  committed  the  serious  crime  of  underselling 
Isokrates  and  also  of  issuing  more  attractive  pro- 
spectuses ;  perhaps,  too,  they  are  the  captious  critics  to 
whom  he  is  always  referring. 

Isokrates  is  still  more  severe  on  various  philosophical 
teachers  ;  he  cannot  mean  Plato  alone,  for  he  mentions 
their  fees,  and  Plato  made  no  charge.  There  must  have 
been  a  large  number  of  philosophical  professors,  of 
whom  Plato  was  only  the  most  brilliant.  But  in  many 
points  Isokrates  no  doubt  meant  his  denunciations  to 
apply  to  Plato  also.  The  summary  of  his  attack  is  as 
follows  : — "  They  make  impossible  offers,  promising  to 
impart  to  their  pupils  an  exact  science  of  gonduct,  by 
means  of  which  they  will  always  know  what  to  do. 
Yet  for  this  science  they  charge  only  3  or  4  fival  (£12 
or  ;^i6),  a  ridiculously  small  sum.  They  try  to  attract 
pupils  by  the  specious  titles  of  the  subjects  which  they 
claim  to  teach,  such  as  Justice  and  Prudence.     But  the 

'  Isok.  Antid,  99.  2  jgok.  SopL  10.  293  a. 


CHAP.  VI      SECONDARY  EDUCATION  183 

Justice  and  the  Prudence  which  they  teach  are  of  a  very 
peculiar  sort,  and  they  give  a  meaning  to  the  words 
quite  different  from  that  which  ordinary  people  give  ; 
in  fact,  they  cannot  be  sure  about  the  meaning  them- 
selves, but  can  only  dispute  about  it.  Although  they 
profess  to  teach  Justice,  they  refuse  to  trust  their  pupils, 
but  make  them  deposit  the  fees  with  a  third  party 
before  the  course  begins."  ^  Here  we  have  a  picture  of 
a  distinct  group  of  ethical  teachers  all  trying  to  work 
at  that  Socratic  paradox  that  virtue  is  knowledge,  and 
imparting  their  results  to  pupils  for  low  fees. 

All  these  Professors  of  Ethics  seem  to  have  made 
Mathematics  and  Astronomy  a  part  of  their  course, 
just  as  Plato  did.  "  To  the  old  Athenian  education,  of 
Letters  and  Music  and  Gymnastics,  they  have  added  a 
more  advanced  course,  consisting  of  Geometry  and 
Astronomy  and  such  subjects,  together  with  eristic 
dialogues,"  that  is,  Dialectic.^  This  course  seems  to  have 
been  much  criticised  as  being  a  mere  waste  of  time,  since 
it  was  of  no  practical  use  and  the  knowledge  so  obtained 
was  soon  forgotten  in  after  life.  But  Isokrates,  although 
these  subjects  played  no  part  in  his  own  school,  was 
sufficiently  good  an  educationalist  to  see  their  merits  : 
the  study  of  subtle  and  difficult  matters  like  Astronomy 
and  Geometry  "  trains  a  boy  to  keep  his  attention 
closely  fixed  upon  the  point  at  issue  and  not  to  allow  his 
mind  to  wander  ;  so,  being  practised  in  this  way  and 
having  his  wits  sharpened,  he  will  be  made  capable  of 
learning  more  important  matters  with  greater  ease  and 
speed."  ^  But  all  these  unpractical,  if  improving, 
studies  should  be  abandoned  before  the  nineteenth 
year  :  for  they  dry  up  the  human  nature  and  make  men 

^  Isok.  Soph.  4.  291  D.     Cp.  the  modern  "caution-money." 

^  Isok.  Pan.  26.  238  a.  ^  jgok.  Antid.  118.  265. 


1 84  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

unbusinesslike.  "  Some  of  those  who  have  become  so 
adept  in  these  subjects  that  they  teach  them  to  others, 
show  themselves  in  the  practical  conduct  of  life  less 
wise  than  their  pupils,  not  to  say  than  their  servants."  ^ 
Consequently,  those  who  care  to  study  mathematics  and 
eristic  should  confine  them,  to  the  years  between  four- 
teen and  eighteen  :  and  then  pass  on  to  learn  rhetoric 
with  Isokrates  ;  the  rest  can  come  to  his  school  as  lads, 
as  many  did. 

But,  although  he  differentiated  himself  so  carefully 
from  what  moderns  would  call  the  philosophical  schools, 
Isokrates  styled  himself  a  teacher  of  philosophy  quite  as 
much  as  they  did.  To  him,  as  to  the  Romans,  philo- 
sophy was  the  art  of  living  a  practical  life.  "  That 
which  is  of  no  immediate  use  either  for  speech  or  for 
action  does  not  deserve  the  name  of  Philosophy."  ^  The 
true  philosopher  is  not  the  dreamer  who  neglects  what . 
is  practical  and  essential,  but  the  man  of  the  world  who 
learns  and  studies  subjects  which  will  make  him  able  to 
manage  his  household  and  govern  his  state  well ;  for 
this  is  the  object  of  all  labouf  and  all  philosophy. ^ 
With  this  practical  end  in  view  he  ridicules  the  meta- 
physical researches  of  "  the  old  Sophists,  of  whom 
Demokritos  said  that  the  number  of  realities  was  infinite, 
and  Empedokles  declared  for  four,  and  Ion  for  not 
more  than  three,  and  Alkmaion  for  only  two,  and 
Parmenides  and  Melissos  for  one,  while  Gorgias  asserted 
that  nothing  existed  at  all."  ^ 

In  the  promises  which  he  makes  of  imparting  to  his 
pupils  this  practical  wisdom  which  he  calls  philosophy, 
Isokrates  is  characteristically  cautious.  An  exact 
science,  which  will  embrace  all  possible  questions  and 
circumstances  which  may  arise  in  domestic  and  political 

1  Isok.  Panath.  238  d.  2  jsok.  Antid.  118.  266.  3  /^/^.  ug.  ^68. 


CHAP.  VI      SECONDARY  EDUCATION  185 

matters,  is  an  impossibility  ;  men  must  be  content  with 
a  general  capacity  of  forming  a  right  judgment  in  view 
of  each  particular  case  when  it  arises.  Consequently  he 
defines  as  "wise  men,"  o-o<l>oi,  "those  whose  judgment 
usually  hits  upon  the  right  course  of  action,"  and  as 
"  seekers  after  wisdom "  or  philosophers,  <f)Ck6(To<l>oL, 
"  those  who  occupy  themselves  with  those  studies  and 
pursuits  from  which  they  will  most  quickly  obtain  this 
practical  wisdom,"  ^  or  capacity  of  forming  correct 
judgments.  But  a  judgment  can  only  be  formed 
properly  after  a  proper  deliberation  :  so  the  work  of 
Philosophy  is  to  practise  her  pupils  in  this  deliberation.^ 
This  practice  is,  of  course,  provided  in  the  school 
of  Isokrates  ;  for  his  school  was,  in  fact,  a  debating 
or  deliberating  society,  in  which  the  pupils  wrote  and 
recited  carefully  composed  speeches  on  given  themes, 
or  listened  to  the  harangues  of  their  master.  Sometimes 
they  discussed  events  of  the  day  and  matters  of  general 
interest  ^  at  the  moment ;  at  another  time  their  topic 
was  some  constitutional  or  historical  question,  or  the 
comparative  merits  of  different  nations  and  governments.* 
At  another  time,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  example  ot 
Isokrates'  own  orations,  they  dealt  with  those  mythical 
characters  who  were  historical  realities  as  well  as  sacred 
personages  to  the  average  Hellene,  Theseus  and  Helen 
and  Bousiris  :  this  in  their  eyes  was  almost  equivalent 
to  religious  instruction  and  they  were  virtually  writing 
theological  essays.  No  doubt  also  the  pupils  wrote 
and  recited  those  "  commonplaces "  or  short  essays  on 
general  topics,  composed  in  a  most  elaborate  style, 
which  ancient  orators  kept  in  stock,  ready  to  be  inserted 

1  Isok.  Antid.  ii8.  268.  2  i^^  ^j  3  jgok.  letter  to  Alexander. 

■*  Isok.  Pamth,  275.     It  is  noticeable  how  many  of  his  pupils  became  historians — 
Ephoros,  Theopompos,  Androtion,  Asklepiades. 


1 86  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

in  a  speech  when  a  suitable  opening  presented  itself. 
Isokrates*  own  works  are  particularly  full  of  these 
highly  finished  little  essays  :  ^  so  it  is  at  least  extremely 
probable  that  he  insisted  upon  their  composition  in  his 
school.  Before  his  pupils,  too,  Isokrates  would  recite 
those  fine  sermons  of  his,  like  the  Demonikos  ;  and 
effective  pieces  of  moral  exhortation  they  must  have 
been. 

Thus  the  Isocratean  school  claimed  to  be,  and  was, 
a  school  of  morals  :  it  was  also  a  school  of  good  style 
and  composition.  The  boys*  essays  had  to  be  written 
in  a  particular  style,  grandiloquent  and  ornate,  to  suit 
their  themes.  "  For  it  is  absurd  to  suppose  that  the 
matter  and  manner  of  ordinary  conversation  or  of 
forensic  oratory  are  suitable  to  Pan -Hellenic  themes  ; 
on  the  contrary,  in  this  kind  of  speech  the  thoughts 
must  be  more  original  and  more  lofty,  the  style  more 
striking,  and  the  diction  more  poetical  and  elaborate."  ^ 
Style,  diction,  and  matter  must,  in  fact,  be  that  which 
Isokrates  worked  out  in  his  own  speeches.  That  style  ^ 
I  do  not  mean  to  discuss  here.  The  fact  that  he  wrote 
in  a  study  and  never  spoke  in  public,  has  made  him 
exaggerate  the  merits  of  the  artistic  prose-style  of  which 
he  was  the  first  really  great  exponent ;  but  of  its 
popularity  with  an  Hellenic  audience  there  can  be  no 
question.  The  pupils  of  Isokrates  became  the  most 
eminent  politicians  and  the  most  eminent  prose-writers 
of  the  time  ;  his  house,  as  Cicero  puts  it,  was  the  school 
of  Hellas  and  the  manufactory  of  eloquence. 

To  acquire  this  kind  of  oratory  there  was  need  both 
of  natural   ability    and    of  diligent   study.     Isokrates 

1  See,  for  example,  "On  Slander"  {Antid.  313  e),  "On  Speech"  (115.  255). 

2  Isok.  Antid.  48. 

^  For  a  complete  analysis  of  it,  see  Jebb's  Attic  Orators. 


CHAP.  VI      SECONDARY  EDUCATION  187 

professes  to  supply,  first  an  exact  science  of  all  the 
rhetorical  devices  and  the  various  forms  which  speech 
can  take,  and  then  practice  in  the  right  employment 
and  arrangement  of  these  several  parts.  To  learn  the 
technique  of  rhetoric  is  comparatively  easy,  if  the 
aspirant  applies  to  the  right  man  ;  but  the  right  use  of 
the  technique  can  never  be  brought  under  any  set  of 
rules,  or  taught  by  one  man  to  another :  it  can  only  be 
learnt  by  experience.  The  future  orator  must  try  the 
effect  of  each  arrangement  and  combination  of  technique 
on  the  audience,  and  so  draw  up  his  own  system.^  The 
requisite  audience  for  these  experiments  will  be  pro- 
vided by  the  other  pupils  of  the  school,  with  the  master 
as  chief  critic.  A  good  master  is  essential.  By  his 
personal  influence  he  will  be  able  to  communicate  those 
finer  elements  of  style  which  cannot  be  communicated 
in  formal  teaching.  If  he  is  worth  his  salt,  all  his 
pupils  will  bear  the  stamp  of  his  own  manner,  and  will 
easily  be  distinguished  from  every  one  else  by  the 
similarity  of  their  style  to  his  and  to  one  another's.^ 
Education  in  rhetoric  at  Isokrates'  school  seems  to  have 
begun  with  the  study  of  his  own  works.  In  the 
Panathenaikos  he  describes  himself  as  reading  the 
speech  over  with  two  or  three  of  his  regular  pupils  ; 
they  revise  and  criticise  it  as  they  go  along.  This 
would  give  Isokrates  the  opportunity  of  expounding 
his  own  views  of  technique,  with  his  own  works  before 
him  as  illustrations.  It  may  be  inferred  from  the 
beginning  of  the  Bousiris  that  the  written  speeches 
of  other  Sophists  were  also  studied,  and  their  faults,  of 
aberrations  from  Isocratean  canons,  pointed  out,  in 
order  that  they  might  be  avoided  in  future.  At  any 
rate,  Isokrates  complains  that  other  professors  of  the 

1  Isok.  ag.  Soph.  294  c  j  Antid.  91-93,  etc.  ^  Ibid.  294  e. 


1 88  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

same  sort  of  Rhetoric  at  Athens  made  use  of  his 
writings  for  teaching  their  own  pupils,  though,  of 
course,  according  to  him,  they  did  so  in  order  to  show 
the  boys  what  to  admire,  not  what  to  avoid.  When 
this  technique  had  been  fully  mastered  Isokrates  set  his 
pupils  to  write  speeches  on  their  own  account,  choosing 
for  them  some  great  and  improving  theme  :  in  these 
speeches  they  had  to  apply  the  rules  which  they  had 
learnt,  and  the  subtler  influences  which  they  had  im- 
bibed, from  their  teacher.  But  they  had  also  to  think 
out  the  subject-matter,  and  in  this  lies  much  of  the 
merit  of  the  whole  system.  For,  as  Isokrates  observes, 
the  essayist  who  writes  upon  such  themes  will  have  to 
think  noble  thoughts,  and  select  noble  deeds  as  his 
instances  and  illustrations.  This  contemplation  of  what 
is  noble  will  be  a  greater  incentive  to  virtue  than  any 
so-called  science  of  ethics  :  ^  for  there  is  no  science 
which  can  create  goodness  in  wicked  natures,  but  ex- 
hortation and  persuasion  can  work  wonders.  Moreover, 
since  the  orator's  best  argument  is,  after  all,  a  good 
reputation,  the  young  orator  will  see  that  his  conduct 
and  character  are  as  excellent  as  possible.^  And  the 
practice  of  weighing  just  what  thoughts  and  actions  are 
suitable  to  the  speech  involves  that  faculty  of  sound 
deliberation  which  is  necessary  for  the  formation  of 
right  judgments.  In  fact,  Isocratean  "Philosophy" 
does  more  to  form  character  than  it  does  to  produce 
eloquence.^ 

The  pupils  practised  themselves,  as  we  have  seen,  by 
delivering  their  harangues  before  Isokrates  and  their 
fellow-pupils.  The  school  formed  a  select  clique  of 
trained  critics  of  Rhetoric ;  the  encouragement  of 
criticism  by  this  means  must  have  been  valuable.     To 

^  Uok.  Amid.  121.  2  igok^  gg^  Soph.  295  d. 


CHAP.  VI      SECONDARY  EDUCATION  189 

this  council  Isokrates  submitted  his  own  orations  before 
publication  ;  former  pupils  were  also  invited  to  attend 
on  these  occasions.  There  is  an  interesting  account  of 
such  an  assembly  at  the  end  of  the  Panathenaikos.  **  I 
was  revising  the  speech  as  it  stands  down  to  this  point," 
Isokrates  says,  *'  with  three  or  four  of  the  lads  who  are 
accustomed  to  study  with  me.  On  reading  it  through, 
we  were  satisfied  with  it  and  thought  it  only  needed  a 
peroration.  I  determined,  however,  to  send  for  one  of 
those  among  my  pupils  who  had  been  brought  up  in  an 
oligarchy  and  had  set  themselves  to  praise  Lakedaimon, 
so  that  he  might  notice  any  false  charge  which  we  had 
unwittingly  brought  against  the  Spartans."  The  pupil 
comes,  and,  while  praising  the  speech  enthusiastically, 
makes  an  unguarded  criticism  of  its  matter  which  led 
to  a  long  discussion,  in  the  course  of  which  he  and 
Isokrates  deliver  lengthy  harangues.  Finally,  the  pupil 
is  crushed.  The  boys  who  had  been  present  through- 
out the  discussion  were  completely  convinced  by 
Isokrates  and  applauded  him  warmly.  But  the  master 
himself  was  not  satisfied.  So  three  or  four  days  later 
he  called  together  all  his  old  pupils  who  where  in 
Athens,  and  the  speech  was  submitted  to  their  judg- 
ment, and  received  with  enthusiastic  applause.  The 
former  critic  then  delivered  a  brilliant  harangue,  trying 
to  elucidate  a  hidden  meaning  in  the  speech.  "  The 
crowd  of  pupils,  which  is  usually  ready  to  applaud, 
shouted,  flocked  round  him,  and  congratulated  him, 
thoroughly  agreeing  with  his  eulogy  of  me,"  says 
Isokrates.  "  I  praised  him  too,  but  did  not  reveal 
whether  he  had  hit  off  my  secret  meaning  or  not." 

The  whole  tone  of  the  passage  suggests  that  such 
an  appeal  to  the  pupils  for  criticism  and  advice  was 
common,    the    only    extraordinary    feature    being    the 


I90  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

presence  of  the  "  old  boys."  This  view  is  supported 
by  other  passages.  In  the  Areiopagitikos^  Isokrates 
tells  his  imaginary  audience  that  "  Some  who  heard  me 
on  a  former  occasion  describe  this  constitution  which 
Athens  once  enjoyed,  while  praising  it  enthusiastically 
and  calling  our  ancestors  happy,  .  .  .  told  me  that  I 
was  not  likely  to  persuade  you  to  adopt  it."  On 
another  occasion  his  speech  made  such  an  impression 
upon  this  preliminary  audience  that  "  No  one  praised 
the  beauty  of  the  style,  as  they  usually  do,  but  all 
admired  the  truth  of  the  argument."  When  he  first 
told  his  pupils  that  he  meant  to  send  an  advisory 
speech  to  Philip,  "  they  all  thought  he  was  mad,  and 
had  the  impudence  to  rebuke  him,  a  thing  which  they 
had  never  done  before.  .  .  .  But  when  they  had  heard 
the  speech  they  changed  their  minds  completely  and 
thought  that  PhiHp,  Athens,  and  all  Hellas  would  alike 
be  grateful  to  him."  ^ 

Isokrates'  great  political  pamphlets,  with  their 
wonderfully  polished  style  and  their  striking  themes, 
naturally  served  him  as  an  excellent  advertisement,  as 
he  na'lvely  admits  in  the  Antidosis.  Those  who 
required  further  information  about  his  educational 
methods  and  aims  would  turn  to  the  prospectus 
Against  the  Sophists^  which  he  published  at  the 
beginning  of  his  career.  Owing  to  these  attractions, 
pupils  came  to  him  from  all  parts  of  the  Hellenic 
world,  from  Pontos,  Sicily,  and  Cyprus ;  ^  he  had 
"  more  than  all  the  other  teachers  of  philosophy  put 
together."  *  They  were  not  merely  private  citizens, 
but  statesmen,  generals,  kings,  and  tyrants.^  Probably 
the  age  at  which  they  came  varied  greatly,  but  most 

1  Isok.  Areiop.  151  b,  '^  Isok.  Philips  85,  86. 

8  Iiok,  Antid.  106.  *  Ibid.  318  c.  »  Ibid.  316  c. 


I 


CHAP.  VI      SECONDARY  EDUCATION  191 

of  his  actual  pupils  would  probably  be  between  fifteen 
and  twenty-one.  He  often  speaks  of  ixeipaKia  as  among 
them.  Moreover,  he  speaks  of  parents  bringing  their 
sons  to  him/  which  they  certainly  would  not  do  if  the 
boys  were  over  eighteen.  Public  life  in  the  average 
Hellenic  state  began  at  twenty  ;  so  boys  would  wish 
to  be  ready  for  it  by  that  age.  The  course  at  Isokrates' 
school  lasted  for  three  or  four  years.^  The  Athenian 
lad  was  more  or  less  busy  with  his  military  duties  from 
eighteen  to  twenty,  so  he  would  probably  take  the 
course  between  fourteen  and  eighteen  ;  natives  of  other 
states  would  fit  it  in  according  to  their  local  customs. 
The  fee  for  the  whole  course  was  10  mnai,  or  £^0,^ 
The  story  ^  goes  that  Demosthenes,  having  only  ^^8, 
offered  to  pay  that  sum  for  one-fifth  of  the  course. 
But  Isokrates  replied  that  he  could  not  sell  his  philo- 
sophy in  slices  ;  the  customer  must  take  the  whole  fish 
or  none  at  all.  Probably,  however,  the  tale  is  a  fiction  : 
Isokrates  himself  claims  not  to  have  made  any  money 
out  of  his  countrymen,  and  only  to  have  charged  his 
foreign  pupils. 

Since,  soon  after  the  opening  of  his  school,  he  had 
a  hundred  pupils,  the  accounts  of  his  great  wealth, 
which  he  repudiated  so  indignantly,  cannot  have  been 
far  wrong,  especially  as  he  received  20  talents 
(nearly  ^5000)  for  his  panegyric  on  Euagoras.  His 
own  comparison  of  his  wealth  with  that  of  Gorgias, 
who  left  only  ;£8oo  at  his  death,  is  curious,  if  the  above 
statements  are  true. 

But  his  pupils,  drawn  from  a  class  that  had  sufficient 
substance  to  live  at  leisure,^  seem  to  have  been  well 
satisfied  with  what  they  got  for  their  money.     "  At 

^  Isok.  Antid.  no.  ^  /^/^  52.  3  [Demos.]  Lakritos,  15  and  42. 

*  [Plutarch]  Ten  Orators,  837.  *  Isok.  Atttiii.  129. 


192  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

the  end  of  their  time,  when  they  were  on  the  point 
of  sailing  home  to  their  friends,  they  so  loved  their 
life  in  Athens  that  they  parted  from  it  with  tears  and 
sighs."  Isokrates  kept  on  friendly  terms  with  them 
afterwards.  Thus  he  writes  to  Timotheos,  tyrant  of 
Herakleia  and  an  old  pupil,  to  congratulate  him  on 
his  accession  and  commend  to  him  another  old  pupil, 
Autokrator.  Then  there  is  the  charming  letter  in 
which  he  introduces  Diodotos,  another  of  his  pupils,  to 
the  Macedonian  Antipater,  at  some  personal  risk,  for 
there  was  war  between  Athens  and  Macedon  at  the 
time.  "  I  have  had  many  pupils,*'  the  letter  runs, 
"  some  of  whom  have  become  great  orators,  some  men 
of  action,  some  great  thinkers,  some,  with  no  particular 
talents,  have  at  any  rate  become  upright  and  cultured 
gentlemen  :  Diodotos  combines  all  these  qualities." 

The  chief  boast  of  the  school  of  Isokrates  was 
that  it  produced  gentlemen.  Isokrates  defines  educa- 
tion not  as  a  knowledge  of  metaphysics  and  a  con- 
templation of  the  Good,  nor  yet  as  technical  ability 
in  some  particular  profession,  art,  or  trade,  but  as  a 
sort  of  culture  and  polish.  "  This  is  my  definition  of 
the  educated  man,"  he  says.  "  First,  he  is  capable  of 
dealing  with  the  ordinary  events  of  life,  by  possessing  a 
happy  sense  of  fitness  and  a  faculty  of  usually  hitting 
upon  the  right  course  of  action. 

"Secondly,  his  behaviour  in  any  society  is  always 
correct  and  proper.  If  he  is  thrown  with  offensive  or 
disagreeable  company,  he  can  meet  it  with  easy  good- 
temper  ;  and  he  treats  every  one  with  the  utmost 
fairness  and  gentleness. 

'*  Thirdly,  he  always  has  the  mastery  over  his 
pleasures,  and  does  not  give  way  unduly  under  mis- 
fortune   and    pain,    but   behaves    in   such    cases   with 


CHAP.  VI      SECONDARY  EDUCATION  193 

manliness  and  worthily  of  the  nature  which  has  been 
given  to.  us. 

"  Fourthly  (the  most  important  point)  he  is  not 
spoilt  or  puiFed  up  nor  is  his  head  turned  by  success, 
but  he  continues  throughout  to  behave  like  a  wise 
man,  taking  less  pleasure  in  the  good  things  which 
chance  has  given  him  at  birth  than  in  the  products  of 
his  own  talents  and  intelligence. 

"  Those  whose  soul  is  well  tuned  to  play  its  part  in 
all  these  ways,  those  I  call  wise  and  perfect  men,  and 
declare  to  possess  all  the  virtues  ;  those  I  regard  as 
truly  educated."  ^ 

Thus  the  object  of  Isokrates  was  rather  to  impart 
culture  and  polish  to  his  pupils  than  to  teach  them 
rhetoric  ;  it  is  in  this  point  that  he  differs  from  the 
other  professors  who  taught  the  same  sort  of  rhetoric 
as  he  did  at  Athens  and  have  now  been  forgotten,  and 
from  the  logographoi,  who  taught  the  kind  of  speaking 
which  suited  the  Athenian  law-courts,  without  pro- 
fessing to  supply  anything  but  a  technical  knowledge  of 
their  particular  subject. 

In  an  Athenian  trial  the  prosecutor  and  defendant 
had  each  to  deliver  a  speech  for  themselves  ;  afterwards, 
regular  advocates  might  address  the  jury  in  some  cases, 
but  this  was  rare.  So  the  duty  of  an  Athenian  lawyer 
was  simply  to  write  speeches  for  his  clients  to  deliver, 
not  to  speak  himself.  Thus  the  metic  Lusias,  who 
had  no  right  to  speak  in  a  court  himself,  was  a  famous 
lawyer,  or  logographos,  speech-writer,  as  the  Hellenes 
called  him. 

Mantitheos,  say,  finds  himself  involved  in  a  lawsuit. 
He  comes  to  Lusias  and  explains  the  circumstances. 
Lusias  masters   the  details,  looks  up  the  laws  on  the 

^  Isok.  Panath.  239. 


194  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

question,  and  studies  his  client's  age,  character,  and  so 
forth.  He  then  writes  a  speech  sufficiently  dramatised 
to  come  naturally  from  Mantitheos'  mouth.  In  com- 
posing it  he  will  simulate  the  indignation  which  he 
supposes  his  client  to  feel,  he  will  adopt  the  nonchalant 
air  of  injured  innocence  which  Mantitheos  showed  in 
telling  the  story,  and  so  on,  till  the  speech  is  a  real 
bit  of  dramatisation  like  the  speeches  in  a  tragedy. 
When  composed,  the  speech  would  be  carried  off  by 
Mantitheos,  learnt  by  heart,  and  duly  recited.  It  is 
all  a  bit  of  acting  on  Lusias'  part.  The  habit  of 
simulating  feelings  when  writing  speeches  was  dangerous, 
when  the  logographos  came  forward  to  speak  in  his 
own  person  on  some  question.  Demosthenes  never 
quite  escapes  the  suspicion  of  acting  and  posing,  even 
in  his  most  impressive  moments. 

Besides  these  clients,  the  Athenian  lawyers  had 
permanent  pupils,  who  either  intended  to  be  lawyers 
themselves  or  thought  the  study  would  help  them  in 
a  poHtical  life.  Their  methods  of  teaching,  as  may 
be  seen  from  Plato's  Phaidros,  resembled  those  of 
Isokrates.  In  the  dialogue  called  by  his  name,  Phaidros 
is  going  out  to  walk  oiF  the  effects  of  sitting  indoors 
too  long.^  He  had  been  listening  to  Lusias,  *'  the 
cleverest  speech-writer  of  the  age,"  reciting  one  of  his 
speeches,  on  which  he  had  spent  much  labour.  Phaidros 
had  made  him  repeat  it  several  times,  and  has  now 
borrowed  the  book  in  order  to  learn  it  by  heart  during 
his  walk.  Sokrates  persuades  him  to  read  it  aloud,  in 
doing  which  he  is  quite  carried  away  by  its  eloquence.^ 
Sokrates  then  proceeds  to  criticise  the  style  and 
matter  of  the   speech,^    and   to    compose    one   of  his 

1  Plato,  Phaidr.  227-228.  2  /^/^_  ^^^  j^ 

^  The  criticisms  do  not  suit  Lusias  j  they  fit  Isokrates  much  better. 


CHAP.  VI      SECONDARY  EDUCATION  195 

own  on  the  same  subject  to  show  how  it  ought  to  be 
treated. 

This  reveals  the  method  of  teaching.  The  teacher, 
as  here  and  in  Isokrates'  case,  recites  a  speech  of  his 
own,  explaining  how  it  was  done  and  asking  for 
criticism  from  the  pupils.  Then  the  pupil  would  learn 
it  by  heart  and  declaim  it  in  some  solitary  place.  On 
other  occasions,  as  Sokrates  does  here,  the  master  would 
take  the  speech  of  some  rival  professor  and  criticise  it 
severely,  composing  a  better  speech  himself.  The 
Bousiris  and  Helen  of  Isokrates  show  this  method. 
Or  else  the  pupil  replied  to  the  teacher,  or  the 
teacher  wrote  two  speeches  on  opposite  sides  of  the 
question.  The  extant  work  of  Antiphon  and  the  lost 
work  of  Gorgias  ^  are  of  this  type. 

Most  of  the  Attic  orators  seem  to  have  taken  pupils. 
Isaios  taught  Demosthenes.  Demosthenes  in  his  turn 
seems  to  have  had  great  popularity  as  a  teacher.  He 
"  promises  to  teach  young  men  the  art  of  speaking  "  ;  ^ 
"  he  filled  Aristarchos  with  empty  hopes  of  becoming 
the  prince  of  orators  all  in  a  moment  '*  ;  ^  "  he  invited 
some  of  his  pupils  to  come  and  listen  to  the  speech 
On  the  False  Embassy,  promising  to  show  them  how  to 
cheat  and  mislead  the  audience  "  ;  *  "  later  on  he  will 
brag  before  his  boys  of  his  tricks."  These  passages 
give  an  interesting  picture  of  Demosthenes  and 
his  pupils,  as  seen  through  his  opponent's  green 
spectacles. 

In  opposition  to  the  schools  of  Rhetoric  stood  the 
schools  of  Philosophy,  leading  their  pupils  towards  the 
life  of  retirement  and  contemplation  and  away  from  the 

^  Cicero,  Brutus,  xii.  46-47.  ^  Aischines,  Timarch.  171,  173. 

3  Ibid.  171.  *  Ibid.  175. 


196  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

strenuous  life  of  political  and  social  activity.^  We 
have  seen  that  there  were  many  professors  of  Philosophy 
at  Athens  in  Isokrates'  time,  charging  fees  of  three  or  four 
mnai  for  their  course.  But  only  one  of  them  is  known 
to  posterity,  and  he  gave  lessons  gratis.  Otherwise, 
Plato  must  be  taken  as  a  member  of  a  class,  albeit  the 
most  brilliant  member.  The  teaching  of  Plato  centred, 
as  is  well  known,  round  the  Akademeia.  Plato  possessed 
a  house  and  garden,  which  he  bequeathed  to  his  school, 
between  that  gymnasium  and  Kolonos.  When  he  and 
his  pupils  wished  to  be  private  they  could  withdraw  into 
his  gardens  ;  otherwise  they  frequented  the  Akademeia, 
from  which  their  school  took  its  name.  It  was  not 
every  one  who  could  obtain  admission  to  the  school, 
for,  as  Plato  taught  gratuitously,  he  could  pick  and 
choose  his  pupils.  He  expected  would-be  students  to 
be  well  grounded  in  Geometry  :  there  must  have  been 
some  sort  of  entrance-examination.  His  successor, 
Xenokrates,  finding  that  an  applicant  was  ignorant  of 
Music,  Geometry,  and  Astronomy,  told  him  to  go  away  : 
*'  for  you  give  philosophy  no  chance  of  getting  a  grip 
upon  you."  ^  The  inner  circle  of  the  school  had  their 
meals  in  common  :  the  banquets  were  extremely  plain. 
Timotheos,  the  Athenian  general,  who  was  accustomed 
to  rich  living,  after  having  been  a  guest  at  one  of  these 
meals,  remarked,  on  meeting  Plato  next  day,  "  Your 
suppers  are  more  pleasant  on  the  following  day  than 
they  are  at  the  time."  ^  After  the  meal,  a  larger 
number  of  friends  probably  came  in  ;  this,  at  any  rate, 
was  a  custom  at  the  similar  meetings  held  by  the 
philosopher  Menedemos  a  generation  later."*  The  dis- 
course often  went  on  all  night.     There  was  a  fixed  code 

1  Plato,  Gorg.  484-486  ;  end  oi  Euthud.  j   Theait.  172-177  ;  Rep.  496. 
2  Diog.  Laert.  iv.  2.  6.  ^  Athen.  419  d.  ^  /^/^,  ^j^  g  and  55  d. 


CHAP.  VI      SECONDARY  EDUCATION  197 

of  rules  to  regulate  these  meals,^  which  is  suggestive  of 
Plato's  pleasantries  in  the  Laws  about  the  educational 
value  of  strictly  regulated  bouts  of  intoxication.  But 
drunkenness  was,  of  course,  not  allowed  :  Plato  had  a 
particular  objection  to  it,  and  used  to  tell  drunkards  to 
look  in  the  looking-glass  and  they  would  never  err  in 
that  way  again. ^  It  offended  his  strict  canons  of 
physical  beauty  and  propriety.  It  is  interesting  to  note 
that  the  author  of  the  Republic  admitted  women  on 
terms  of  equality  to  this  inner  circle  of  the  Akademeia, 
in  defiance  of  Athenian  prejudice.  Lastheneia  of 
Mantineia  and  Axiothea  of  Phlious,  who  dressed  in 
male  attire,  are  the  first  champions  of  women's  rights 
to  a  University  education  who  appear  in  history.^  The 
discussions  of  this  clique  were  probably  conducted  after 
the  model  of  the  Platonic  dialogue,  and  doubtless  were 
in  Plato's  mind  when  in  the  Laws  he  constructed 
his  curious  ethical  and  political  debating-society  for  the 
older  and  wiser  members  of  his  state. 

But  admission  to  these  mysteries  must  have  been 
reserved  for  comparatively  few,  personal  friends  and 
mature  thinkers :  the  members  formed  rather  a  private 
club  than  an  educational  system.  The  young  Athenian 
who  wished,  when  his  primary  education  was  finished, 
to  study  philosophy  under  Plato,  had  two  means  open 
to  him  :  there  were  lectures  in  various  public  places  ; 
there  was  also  a  school  for  lads  in  the  Akademeia. 

The  only  lecture,*  of  which  any  very  definite  trace 
is  left,  was  not  a  great  success  from  the  educational 
point  of  view.  Plato  announced  beforehand  that 
his  subject  would    be  "  The  Good."     A  great  crowd 

1  Athen.  i86  b.  ^  pjog^  Laert.  iii.  26.  ^  Ibid.  iii.  31. 

*  See  for  this  lecture  SimpHkios  (on  Aristot.  Physics,  p.  202  b,  36),  and  Aris- 
toxenos,  Harmon,  beg.  of  Bk.  ii.  On  one  occasion,  at  least,  it  was  delivered  in  the 
Peiraieus  (Themist.  Oral.  21.  245). 


198  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

collected,  expecting  to  hear  a  neat  Isocratean  discussion 
of  such  things  as  Health,  Wealth,  Friendship,  which 
were  popularly  considered  to  be  rival  claimants  for  the 
title  of  the  Good.  But  Plato  began  to  talk  about 
arithmetic  and  geometry  and  astronomy,  and  discussed 
the  One  as  the  Good.  The  whole  lecture  was  couched 
in  enigmatical  language.  The  majority  of  the  audience 
went  away  in  despair.^  Only  practised  Platonists  like 
Aristotle  and  Herakleides  and  Hestiaios  did  their  best 
to  understand  the  lecture,  and  took  notes.  The  whole 
idea  of  a  *'  popular  lecture  "  must  have  been  repugnant 
to  Plato.  In  his  view,  knowledge  was  only  for  the  few, 
who,  starting  with  great  natural  abilities,  could  devote 
themselves  for  years  at  a  time  to  continual  study  and 
research.  The  pupil  must  be  talented  to  start  with  : 
he  must  undergo  a  long  course  of  preparatory  studies 
in  Logic  and  Mathematics :  only  when  middle-aged 
might  he  approach  the  inner  mysteries  of  Philosophy. 
Holding  such  educational  ideas  as  these,  Plato  naturally 
made  his  lectures  unintelligible  to  all  but  a  few  :  his 
main  subject  for  public  exposition  seems  to  have  been 
that  curious  mathematical  metaphysic  which  Aristotle 
combats  as  Platonic,  although  it  is  nowhere  found  in 
the  extant  dialogues.  By  reading  the  Metaphysics  of 
Aristotle  the  modern  inquirer  can  perhaps  realise  how 
difficult  Plato's  lectures  must  have  been.^ 

At  the  school  in  the  Akademeia,  Plato  seems  to  have 
instructed  his  lads  chiefly  in  Logic  and  Mathematics. 
Logic  consisted  chiefly  of  definitions,  such  as  those  for 
which  Sokrates  was  always  hunting,  and  that  curious 

^  The  popular  attitude  may  be  seen  in  Amphis'  Amphikates  (Diog.  Laert. 
iii.  25)  :  "  I  no  more  know  what  good  you'll  get  than  I  know  what  Plato's  Good  is.'' 

^  Plato  seems  also  to  have  recited  his  dialogues  in  public.  Favonius  asserted  that 
Aristotle  alone  of  the  audience  stayed  to  the  end  when  Plato  thus  delivered  the 
Phaidon  (Diog.  Laert.  iii.  25). 


CHAP.  VI      SECONDARY  EDUCATION  199 

process  of  "  division "  which  is  exemplified  at  such 
length  in  the  Sophist  and  Politikos,  Diogenes 
Laertius^  gives  a  long  catalogue  of  such  divisions,  of 
which  only  a  few  can  be  found  in  extant  works  :  the 
rest  must  have  figured  in  the  school,  and  survived  as 
traditions  in  the  commentaries.  A  comic  poet  has  left 
a  picture  of  the  logic  school  at  work  ^ : — 

"  A.  What  of  Plato  and  Speusippos  and  Menedemos  ^ 
Upon  what  are  they  now  engaged  ?  What  is  their 
thought  ?  What  argument  is  investigated  among  them  ? 
Tell  me,  I  pray,  if  you  know. 

"  B.  I  can  tell  you  clearly.  For  at  the  Panathenaia 
I  saw  a  herd  (ayeXTj  :  note  the  Spartan  word)  of  lads 
in  the  gymnasium  of  the  Akademeia,  and  listened  to 
strange,  portentous  arguments.  They  were  drawing 
up  definitions  about  natural  history.  They  separated 
the  life  of  animals  and  the  nature  of  trees  and  the  tribes 
of  vegetables  :  then,  among  these  last,  they  inquired  to 
what  tribe  the  cucumber  belonged.  .  .  .  First  of  all 
they  stood  speechless,  and,  putting  their  heads  down, 
thought  for  a  long  time.  Then  suddenly,  while  the 
lads  still  had  their  heads  down,  and  were  thinking,  one 
of  them  said  it  was  a  circular  vegetable,  another  declared 
that  it  was  a  herb,  another  suggested  a  tree.  A  Sicilian 
Doctor  who  was  present  ridiculed  them  most  rudely. 
But  the  lads  took  no  notice  ;  and  Plato,  very  gently 
and  without  losing  his  temper  at  all,  told  them  to  try 
again  to  define  the  species  to  which  it  belonged.  So 
they  began  their  divisions  again." 

In  the  Sophist  the  mysterious  stranger  divides 
Art  into  (i)  creative  or  productive,  (2)  acquisitive. 
Then  acquisitive  art  into  (i)  acquisition  by  exchange, 
(2)  acquisition  by  capture.     Then  the  art  which  acquires 

1  Diog.  Laert.  iii.  45,  etc.  ^  Epikrates  (in  Athen.  59  d,  e). 


200  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

its  object  by  capture  is  divided  into  public  or  competitive 
and  secret  or  hunting.  Then,  when  hunting  has  been 
duly  divided  and  subdivided,  a  definition  of  angling  is 
obtained.  In  the  parody  by  Epikrates,  the  same  process 
is  employed  in  order  to  define  "  cucumber,"  although 
the  stages  are,  of  course,  confused.  A  cucumber  is  a 
form  of  life.  Life  is  divided  into  animals  and  vegeta- 
tion :  vegetation  into  trees  and  vegetables.  Then  the 
doubt  arises,  to  which  half  does  the  cucumber  belong. 
Some  of  the  pupils  say  it  is  a  vegetable,  some  a  tree. 
So  the  lesson  begins  again. 

Plato's  pupils  seem  to  have  been  expected  to  take 
great  care  of  their  personal  appearance  :  their  neatness 
is  a  common  butt  of  contemporary  comedians  ^  : — 

Then  rose  a  smart  young  man  from  the  Akademeia 
Of  Plato.  .  .  . 

His  hair  was  neatly  smoothed,  his  foot  was  neatly 
Laced  in  the  sandal,  bound  with  even  lengths 
Of  shoe-lace  curved  about  his  ankle-bones : 
And  neat  the  corselet  of  his  weighty  cloak. 

And  again  : 

A.  Who's  that  old  fellow  yonder,  do  you  know  ? 

B.  He  looks  a  Hellene,  wears  a  mantle  white, 
A  fair  grey  tunic,  little  soft  felt  hat, 

A  well-tuned  ^  staff,  in  fact,  to  put  it  short, 
'Tis  like  a  glimpse  of  the  "  Academy."  * 

Of  Plato  himself,  as  he  walked  up  and  down  among 
his  pupils,  wrestling  with  intellectual  difficulties,  several 
pictures  survive  in  literature.     A  character  in  Alexis 
remarks  to  a  friend  who  has  come  to  visit  him : 

^  Ephippos,  Shtpivrecked  Man  (Athen.  509). 

^  eijpvdfjios,  probably  a  hit  at  Plato's  demand  for  "  rhythm." 

'  Antiphanes,  Antaros  (Athen.  545  a). 

*  Alexis,  Meropis  (Diog.  Laert.  iii.  22). 


CHAP.  VI      SECONDARY  EDUCATION  201 

You've  come  in  the  nick  of  time.  I'm  in  a  fix. 
Though  walking  up  and  down,  like  Plato,  I've 
Found  nothing  clever  :  but  my  legs  are  tircd.^ 

Amphis,  in  his  Dexidemides,  said  : 

Plato,  all  you  can  do  is  to  frown,  drawing  up  your  eyebrows 
severely,  like  a  shellfish.^ 

The  psychological  yearning  of  the  Phaidon^  per- 
petually interrupted  by  cold  currents  of  scepticism, 
must  have  found  an  echo  in  Plato's  school-teaching,  as 
the  following  dialogues  from  Comedy  show  ^ : — 

A,  My  mortal  frame  grew  dry  : 
My  deathless  part  rushed  forth  into  the  air. 

B.  Why,  bless  us,  are  we  in  the  school  of  Plato  ? 

And 

A.  You're  a  man,  clearly,  and  have  got  a  soul. 

B.  Like  Plato,  I  don't  know  but  I  suspect  it.^ 

Of  discipline  in  the  Akademeia  under  Plato  nothing 
is  known  :  the  following  story  ^  belongs  to  the  school 
a  little  after  his  death.  A  certain  Polemon  agreed  with 
some  young  friends  of  his,  who  attended  the  school, 
that  he  would  rush  into  the  room  during  the  lesson, 
drunk  and  garlanded.  This  he  carried  out.  But  the 
teacher,  Xenokrates,  went  calmly  on  with  his  lecture, 
which  happened  to  deal  with  Sobriety.  This  conduct 
quite  overcame  Polemon,  and  he  became  a  most  diligent 
pupil,  and  finally  succeeded  Xenokrates  as  teacher. 

Of  Plato's  affection  for  his  pupils,  his  own  poems 
afford  sufficient  proof.  One  of  them  was  named  Aster, 
or  Star.  One  day,  as  the  lad  was  studying  the  heavens, 
his  master  wrote  the  following  epigram  about  him  : — 

1  This  walking  up  and  down  was  characteristic  of  Hellenic  teaching.     Compare 
the  Peripatetics^  and  Archutas  in  the  temple-gardens  at  Tarentum  (Athen.  545  b). 

2  Diog.  Laert.  iii.  22.  ^  Ibid.  iv.  3.  i. 


202  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

Star  of  my  soul,  thou  gazest 

Upon  the  starry  skies  ; 
I  envy  Heaven,  that  watches 

Thy  face  with  countless  eyes. 

And  when  he  died,  Plato  wrote  his  epitaph  : 

Thou  wert  the  morning  Star  among  the  living, 

Ere  thy  fair  light  had  fled  : 
Now,  being  dead,  thou  art  as  Hesperus,  giving 

New  splendour  to  the  dead.^ 

Additional  evidence  is  given  by  his  efforts  on  behalf  of 
Dionusios  and  Dion,  which  led  him  into  so  many  perils 
in  Sicily. 

Plato  was  teaching  in  Athens  almost  continually 
from  388  till  347.  His  pupils  included,  no  doubt,  many 
of  the  chief  men  of  the  day  :  Chabrias,  Iphikrates, 
Hupereides,  Phokion,  Lukourgos,  and  Demosthenes 
are  mentioned,  besides  the  philosophers  Speusippos, 
Xenokrates,  Herakleides  of  Pontos,  and  Aristotle. 
But  posterity  ascribed  pupils  recklessly  to  all  the  great 
teachers  of  antiquity,  so  the  catalogue  carries  little 
weight.  It  is  interesting  to  observe  that  the  school  as 
a  whole  was  attacked  for  producing  tyrants  :  the  bitter 
description  of  the  miseries  of  tyranny  in  the  Republic 
are  at  once  a  sad  reflection  upon  former  pupils  and  a 
warning  to  those  whom  he  was  instructing  at  the  time. 
But  the  Philosopher-king,  who  embodied  Plato*s  ideal 
form  of  Government,  may  well  have  had  a  corrupting 
influence  upon  the  pupils.  Dion,  the  philosopher  and 
patriot  who  became  a  tyrant,  is  an  interesting  com- 
mentary upon  the  Republic. 

Teaching  in  the  Akademeia  was  given  gratuitously  ; 
but  those  who  were  so  disposed  might  give  presents  to 

^  The  first  translation  is  my  own,  the  second  Shelley's. 


I 


CHAP.  VI      SECONDARY  EDUCATION  203 

their  teacher.  Dionusios  presented  Plato  with  over 
80  talents.^ 

The  school  of  Aristotle  in  the  Lukeion  differed 
little  in  its  methods  from  the  school  of  Plato  in  the 
Akademeia.  He  had  been  a  pupil  of  Plato  for  twenty 
years  before  he  began  to  teach  on  his  own  account. 
He  used  to  give  instruction  walking  up  and  down  in 
the  walks  of  the  Lukeion.  In  his  earlier  period,  at  any 
rate,  he  seems  to  have  taught  rhetoric,  and  taught  it  in 
Isocratean  fashion  :  we  hear  of  him  setting  a  theme, 
on  which  he  and  the  pupils  delivered  harangues  "  in 
rhetorical  fashion."  Later  the  school  became  a  home 
of  universal  knowledge  and  research  ;  in  this  respect 
Aristotle  is  the  heir  of  the  much-abused  Sophists.  He 
adopted  Xenokrates'  custom  of  appointing  one  of  the 
pupils  to  be  Archon  of  the  school  for  ten  days,  and 
then  another  :  this  system  must  have  relieved  him  of 
much  petty  business.^  He  delivered  two  courses  of 
lectures  daily  :  one  in  the  morning  on  abstruse  subjects 
to  picked  pupils  ;  and  the  other  in  the  afternoon,  open 
to  all  comers  and  more  intelligible  in  matter  and  manner.^ 
His  fame  as  a  teacher  was  sufficient  to  win  him  the 
honour  of  being  chosen  to  be  Alexander's  tutor,  and 
he  seems  to  have  retained  his  pupiFs  respect,  if  not 
perhaps  his  affection.  Aristotle,  dreaming  of  a  tiny 
city-state,  and  Alexander,  dreaming  of  a  world-empire 
and  carrying  out  his  dream,  are  an  ill-assorted  pair. 
What  would  Plato  have  given  for  the  chance  of 
educating  such  a  Philosopher-king  ? 

That  there  were  bitter  feuds  between  the  various 
educational  leaders  in  Athens,  goes  without  saying.     A 

^  Saturos  and  Onetor  in  Diog.  Laert.  iii.  ii. 

^  The  above  details  are  mainly  from  Diog.  Laert.  v. 

3  Aul.  Gell.  XX.  5.  4. 


204  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

Hellene  could  no  more  brook  a  rival  than  could  an 
Italian  of  the  Renaissance.  Isokrates  attacks  Plato,^ 
Plato  Isokrates,  and  then  their  pupils  take  the  quarrel 
on  into  the  next  generation.  Both  attack  with  equal 
animus  the  wandering  Sophists  and  the  Eristics,  who 
retaliated  with  vigour.  A  would-be  pupil  must  have 
found  it  hard  to  choose  a  professor  under  whom  to 
study,  when  so  much  evil  had  been  spoken  of  them  all.^ 

The  schools  of  Rhetoric  and  of  Philosophy  were 
only  for  the  rich  and  the  leisured  classes  :  the  poor  had 
neither  the  time  nor  the  money  requisite  for  attending 
them.  But  they  were  not  wholly  debarred  from  the 
higher  knowledge.  There  were  still  Sophists  lecturing 
for  advertisement  in  public  places.  Still  more,  there 
were  books,  which  were  beginning  to  be  both  numerous 
and  cheap :  every  Athenian  could  read.  How  im- 
portant a  part  books  were  beginning  to  take  in  national 
education  may  be  seen  from  the  works  of  Isokrates  and 
Plato,  who  are  both  excessively  indignant  at  the  intrusion 
of  such  a  rival. 

"  I  know  that  what  is  read  has  less  power  of  persua- 
sion than  what  is  heard.  It  is  universally  believed  that 
a  speech,  if  actually  delivered,  deals  with  serious  and 
important  subjects ;  but  if  only  written  and  never 
spoken,  it  is  supposed  to  aim  merely  at  effect  and  the 
fulfilment  of  a  contract.  This  opinion  is  quite  reason- 
able. For  the  written  speech  is  deprived  of  the  prestige 
of  the  author's  presence  and  of  his  voice  and  of  the 
proper  rhetorical  delivery  :  it  is  read  when  the  occasion 
which  called  it  forth  is  past,  and  the  points  which  it 

^  Plato  had  also  his  feuds  with  Antisthenes,  who  wrote  a  dialogue  against  him, 
calling  him  Satho,  with  Aristippos,  and  with  Aischines  the  Sokratic  (Diog.  Laert. 
iii.  24). 

^  Kriton  feels  this  difficulty  in  Euthud.  306  d,  e. 


CHAP.  VI      SECONDARY  EDUCATION  205 

discusses  are  consequently  less  interesting.  1  he  slave 
who  reads  it  aloud  puts  no  character  into  it,  but  drones 
it  out  as  though  he  were  reckoning  up  the  items  of  a 
bill.''  Such  is  Isokrates'  view,  somewhat  freely  trans- 
lated, of  "  the  written  word,"  which  his  shyness 
compelled  him  to  use  instead  of  the  spoken,  and  he 
beseeches  Philip  of  Macedon,  whom  he  is  addressing, 
to  put  aside  the  usual  prejudice  against  writings. 

Plato  regarded  the  written  word  with  even  greater 
contempt.  To  him  it  is  the  cause  of  forgetfulness  ; 
those  who  employ  writing  learn  to  rely  on  their  notes, 
not  on  their  memory,  and  are  accustomed  to  register 
their  impressions  on  tables  of  wax,  not  of  the  mind.^ 
Again,  it  is  impossible  for  an  author  to  control  the 
circulation  of  his  works  ;  they  may  reach  those  for 
whom  they  are  not  intended.^  For  Plato  expects 
speaker  and  writer  alike  to  express  only  what  is  suitable 
to  their  audience  ;  the  teacher  must,  by  a  study  of 
psychology,  know  what  arguments  will  do  good  and 
what  will  do  harm  to  each  particular  pupil.  But  a 
book  cannot  impart  knowledge,  in  the  Platonic  sense 
of  the  word,  at  all  ;  for  it  is  unable  to  answer  questions 
or  to  explain  its  author's  meaning  when  the  reader  fails 
to  follow.^  Comprehension  of  a  fact  or  of  a  statement 
made  on  a  writer's  authority,  without  comprehension 
of  the  meaning  and  the  explanation,  is  not  knowledge.* 
Consequently,  not  even  a  lecture  ^  or  a  sermon,  far  less 
a  book  whose  author  is  absent  or  dead,  can  impart 
knowledge  ;  to  gain  this,  long  study  and  a  severe  course 
of  dialectic  are  essential.     The  possessor  of  true  know- 

1  Plato,  Phaidr.  275  a.  ^  /^^-^^  27^  g, 

'  Plato,  Phaidr.  275  Dj   Theait.  164  ;  Protag.  329  a,  and  347  e. 
*  So  book-knowledge  is  a  hothouse  plant  which  has  sprung  up  unnaturally  all  in  a 
moment,  and  very  delicate  when  exposed  to  the  open  air  of  criticism  [Phaidr.  276-7). 
^  Plato,  Sophist,  230  A. 


2o6  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

ledge  must  be  able  to  defend  his  view  against  any 
opposing  arguments  and  to  support  it  by  discussion 
himself :  -^  neither  book  nor  lecture  can  give  this  intimate 
acquaintance  with  every  point  of  view.  Moreover, 
teaching  is  like  agriculture.  There  are  different  soils 
and  different  minds.  The  seed  of  knowledge  will  bear 
different  fruit  in  different  soils,  and  there  are  types  of 
minds  in  which  some  particular  seeds  must  not  be  sown 
at  all.  Thus  the  same  teacher  will  produce  quite 
different  philosophical  results  in  different  minds  :  just 
as  Sokrates  did  with  his  various  pupils.  It  is  the 
development  of  the  individual  intellect  and  aptitudes 
of  each  pupil,  not  the  inculcation  of  his  own  theories, 
that  is  the  teacher's  true  object.^  Consequently,  even 
a  consistent  scheme  of  dogmas  is  wrong  for  educational 
purposes  ;  for  it  may  suit  the  intellect  of  the  teacher 
himself,  but  it  cannot  suit  all  his  pupils. 

Hence,  in  order  to  be  consistent  with  his  own 
educational  ideals,  Plato  makes  his  works  inconsistent  : 
they  are  not  a  body  of  rigid  dogmas.  Also,  he  provides 
in  them  just  that  discussion  which  he  notes  as  lacking 
in  most  books  ;  it  is  possible  to  ask  his  books  a  certain 
number  of  questions,  for  he  anticipates  and  answers 
them  himself  in  the  dialogue.  In  this  way  he  makes 
his  words  pass  through  the  alembic^  of  each  pupiFs 
brain,  and  come  out  according  to  the  type  of  mind 
through  which  they  have  passed.  There  is  no  enforce- 
ment of  authority  in  true  Platonism. 

Plato  refused  to  publish  any  philosophy  in  his  own 
name.  By  speaking  through  the  mouth  of  others,  he 
could  vary  his  attitudes  just  as  he  wished.  The  written 
word,  he  declares,  must  necessarily  contain  much  trifling. 

^  Plato,  Menon^  97  ;  Rep.  534  B,  c.  2  pjato,  Rep.  518. 

3  Plato,  Phaidr.  277  a. 


I 


CHAP.  VI      SECONDARY  EDUCATION  207 

Its  composition  is  a  good  amusement  for  leisure  hours.^ 
Its  one  use  is  that  it  serves  to  remind  the  writer  of 
what  he  knows  already,  when  the  forgetfulness  of  old 
age  comes  upon  him.  But  the  writer  is  quite  worthless 
if  he  possesses  nothing  better  in  his  mind  than  what 
he  has  written  on  paper,^  "  twisting  words  up  and 
down,  glueing  them  together  and  pulling  them 
apart."  ^ 

Books,  however,  were  already  serious  rivals  to 
personal  intercourse,  as  a  means  of  education.  The 
libraries  founded  by  Peisistratos  at  Athens  and  by 
Polukrates  at  Samos  were,  it  is  true,  almost  certainly 
fabulous  ;  for  Euripides  was  satirised  for  possessing  a 
collection  of  books,  so  it  must  have  been  a  novelty  in 
his  time.  Books  were  probably  very  rare  before  the 
Periclean  age,  but  then  they  multiplied  with  great 
rapidity.  The  children  used  them  in  the  schools. 
Schoolmasters  were  expected  to  possess  them  :  Alki- 
biades  beat  one  for  not  having  a  copy  of  Homer.  The 
comic  poet  Alexis  makes  Herakles'  master,  Linos,  possess 
copies  of  Orpheus,  Hesiod,  the  tragedians,  Choirilos, 
Homer,  Epicharmos,  and  all  sorts  of  prose  works,  includ- 
ing a  cookery-book.  A  cargo  of  books  was  wrecked  at 
Salmudessos,*  a  fact  which  points  to  a  large  book-trade 
in  Hellenic  waters.  Euthudemos,  the  companion  of 
Sokrates,  possessed  a  fine  collection  of  the  best-known 
poets  and  Sophists,  including  the  works  of  Homer.^ 
Sokrates  suggests  that  he  may  be  collecting  his  books 
in  order  to  learn  Medicine,  on  which  subject  there 
were  many  treatises,  or  Architecture  or  Geometry  or 

1  Plato,  Phaidr.  276  d,  e. 

*  Plato  apparently  regarded  his  dialogues  as  mere  trifles  compared  with  what  he 
taught  to  his  inner  circle. 

^  Plato,  Phaidr.  278  D.  *  Xcn.  Anab.  vii.  5.  14. 

^  Xen.  Mem.  iv.  2. 


2o8  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

Astronomy.     This  shows  how  handbooks  dealing  with 
all  manner  of  subjects  were  multiplying. 

Xenophon's  treatise  on  The  Horse  had  been  pre- 
ceded by  a  similar  work  by  Simon  ;  ^  he  himself  also 
wrote  on  Huntings  on  The  Duties  of  a  Cavalry  Officer^ 
on  The  Management  of  a  Farm,  and  The  Constitution 
of  Sparta,  besides  his  more  definitely  historical  and 
philosophical  works.  His  Education  of  Kuros  conceals 
a  treatise  on  the  duties  of  a  general.  The  subjects  are 
significant  of  the  new  movement  ;  for  earlier  Hellenes 
had  supposed  that  Homer  and  Hesiod  taught  the  whole 
art  of  agriculture  and  generalship.  Other  agricultural 
treatises,  containing  much  theory  but  very  little  practical 
knowledge,  were  also  in  circulation.^  Later  in  the 
fourth  century  Aineias  the  Tactician  contributed  a 
manual  for  generals.  Medical  treatises  emanated  in 
great  numbers  from  the  school  of  Hippokrates,  and 
probably  from  elsewhere.  Chares  and  Apollodoros 
published  works  on  Husbandry,^  Mithaikos  a  Sicilian 
Cookery  -  Book,^  Metrodoros  a  book  of  Homeric  alle- 
gories. Books  of  travels  and  geography  are  also 
mentioned  by  Aristotle.^  Handbooks  on  "  Rhetoric  '* 
were  first  compiled  by  Korax  and  Tisias  :  they  dealt 
with  the  subject  of  "  arguments  from  probability.'' 
Show  pieces  were  written  by  Antiphon  and  Gorgias.  A 
treatise  by  Polos  upon  the  systematic  arrangement  of  a 
speech  was  read  by  Sokrates.  Thrasumachos  published 
a  work  upon  Appeals  to  Compassion. 

The  prices  were  probably  not  high,  for  the  labour  of 
copying  could  be  cheaply  performed  by  means  of  slaves. 
Sokrates,  in  the   Platonic  Apology,^   mentions  that   a 

^  Xen.  Horsemanships  i.  "^  Xen.  Econ.  xvi. 

8  Aristot.  Fol.  i.  n.  7.  ^   Plato,  Gorg.  518  b. 

^  Aristot.  Vol.  ii.  3.  9.  6  piato,  Apol.  26  D. 


( 


CHAP.  VI      SECONDARY  EDUCATION  209 

copy  of  Anaxagoras  could  sometimes  be  picked  up  for 
a  drachma  ;  and  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that 
Anaxagoras  was  particularly  cheap.  If  this  was  an 
average  price,  books  must  have  been  within  the  reach 
of  most  Athenians. 


CHAPTER  VII 

TERTIARY    EDUCATION 

When  he  reached  eighteen  years,  the  young  Athenian 
partly  came  of  age.  His  property  passed  into  his 
possession,  if  he  had  been  a  ward,  and  he  could  now 
prosecute  his  guardians  if  they  had  defrauded  him. 
But  he  could  not  appear  in  any  other  sort  of  lawsuit, 
or  take  part  in  the  National  Assembly,  nor  could  he 
be  taxed,  till  he  was  twenty. 

First  of  all,  his  deme  or  parish  had  to  examine  him 
to  see  if  he  was  of  proper  parentage  and  of  the  requisite 
age.^  If  they  rejected  him,  the  case  came  before  the 
regular  Court  of  Athens.  In  the  event  of  being 
again  rejected,  if  it  was  on  the  score  of  age,  he  returned 
to  the  ranks  of  the  boys  to  wait  a  further  trial,  but 
if  on  the  score  of  parentage,  he  might  be  sold  as  a 
slave  and  his  price  put  into  the  Treasury.  If  his  deme 
accepted  him  he  was  again  examined  by  the  Boule  of 
500  at  Athens,  who  might  rescind  their  decision.^ 

When  he  had  passed  all  these  preliminary  examina- 
tions, the  boy  was  inscribed  upon  the  roll  of  his  deme, 
the  \r)^iap')(^LKov  ypa/jufiarelov,  and  became  in  the  eyes  of 
the  law  an  ephebos.  It  was  then  incumbent  upon  him 
to  take  a  solemn  oath  in  the  temple  of  Aglauros,  in 
the  following  terms  ^  : — 

1  Aristot.  'A(9.  IIoX.  42  for  these  examinations. 
'^  Luk.  ag.  Leak.  18.  76.  ^  Pollux,  viii.  105-106,  etc. 

210 


CHAP.  VII      TERTIARY  EDUCATION  2 1 1 

"  I  will  not  disgrace  my  sacred  weapons  nor  desert 
the  comrade  who  is  placed  by  my  side.  I  will  fight  for 
things  holy  and  things  profane,  whether  I  am  alone  or 
with  others.  I  will  hand  on  my  fatherland  greater  and 
better  than  I  found  it.  I  will  hearken  to  the  magis- 
trates, and  obey  the  existing  laws  and  those  hereafter 
established  ^  by  the  people.  I  will  not  consent  unto  any 
that  destroys  or  disobeys  the  constitution,  but  will 
prevent  him,  whether  I  am  alone  or  with  others.  I 
will  honour  the  temples  and  the  religion  which  my  fore- 
fathers established.  So  help  me  Aglauros,  Enualios, 
Ares,  Zeus,  Thallo,  Auxo,  Hegemone." 

This  oath  and  ceremony  must  be  ancient.  The 
orator  Lukourgos^  includes  them  among  "the  ancient 
laws  and  customs  of  the  original  founders,"  and  claims 
that  the  oath  of  the  Hellenic  army  at  Plataea  in  479 
was  imitated  from  the  oath  of  the  Athenian  epheboi. 
By  this  solemn  act  the  ephebos  accepted  the  duties  and 
responsibilities  of  an  Athenian  citizen.  So  in  Plato's 
dialogue,  the  Kritoriy  where  the  Laws  of  Athens  are 
introduced  as  pleading  their  cause,  they  say,  "When 
any  one  has  passed  his  examination,  and  has  seen  the 
constitution  of  the  city  and  us,  the  Laws  of  Athens,  we 
bid  him,  if  he  is  dissatisfied  with  us,  to  take  what  is  his 
and  go  whither  he  pleases.  But  if  he  stays,  we  consider 
that  he  has  promised  to  obey  us."  For  there  is  good 
evidence,  besides  that  which  is  afforded  by  the  above 
passage,  to  show  that  Athenian  boys  were  taught  what 
the  laws  of  their  city  were,  before  they  promised  to 
obey  them.  Thus  Aischines  says  :  "  When  any  one  is 
inscribed  upon  the  muster  roll  of  his  deme  and  knows 
the   laws    of   the    city."*     Plato    puts   it   even    more 

^  KpalvovTcs.     Note  the  archaic  word.  ^  Luk.  ag.  Leak.  18.  75. 

^  Plato,  Krit.  51  D,  E.  *  Aischin.  ag.  Timarch.  18. 


212  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

definitely  :  "  When  the  children  leave  school,^  the  city 
compels  them  to  learn  the  laws."  ^  So  the  ephebos 
knew  what  he  was  doing  when  he  swore  to  obey  the 
law  of  the  land. 

Meanwhile  the  tribes  had  met  and  each  chosen  three 
men  of  over  forty  years  of  age,  from  whom  the 
assembled  people  elected  one,  to  look  after  the  epheboi 
of  each  tribe.^  These  supervisors  were  called  Sophro- 
nistai  or  Moderators.  That  these  Moderators  probably 
dat-ed  back  to  Solonic  times,  and  possessed  a  general, 
but  rarely  exercised,  supervision  over  all  education,  I 
have  endeavoured  to  show  in  Chapter  II.  Their 
province  was  the  morality  and  discipline  of  the  epheboi, 
whose  military  training  was  naturally  controlled  by  the 
military  officers,  the  Generals  and  Taxiarchoi ;  later, 
however,  when  the  epheboi  ceased  to  be  a  military  body, 
these  latter  functionaries  ceased  to  have  any  connection 
with  them.  Towards  the  close  of  the  fourth  century 
the  people  elected  a  single  Kosmctes  or  Chancellor  for 
the  epheboi  ;  he  is  first  mentioned,  if  a  probably  spurious 
passage  in  the  Axiochos  is  rejected,  in  an  inscription, 
in  which  he  is  associated  with  the  epheboi  and  Moderators 
of  the  year  in  awarding  a  crown  to  Theophanes  in  the 
Archonship  of  Nikostratos  (333-332  B.C.).*  But  in 
280  B.C.,  in  the  list  of  the  officers  and  masters  of  the 
epheboi,  the  Kosmetes  is  mentioned,  but  no  Sophro- 
nistai  :  ^  at  that  time  the  epheboi  were  too  few  to  need 
an  officer  to  each  tribe. 

^  I  have  already  suggested  that  metrical  versions  may  have  been  taught  at  the 
music-schools. 

2  Plato,  Protag.  326  d.  Boys  used  to  listen  to  cases  in  the  law-courts.  This 
vvrould  give  them  some  idea  of  legal  procedure.  (Compare  the  custom  at  some  English 
public  schools  of  letting  the  boys  go  to  hear  the  local  assizes.)  Demosthenes  thus 
went  with  his  paidagogos  to  hear  the  trial  of  Kallistratos. 

3  Aristot.  'A^.  HoX.  42.  2.  4  c.I.^.  IV.  ii.  1571  b.  . 
«  C.I. A.  11.  316.                                                                                                                I 


I 


CHAP.  VII      TERTIARY  EDUCATION  213 

These  newly  appointed  magistrates  took  the  epheboi 
of  their  year  in  charge  at  once.  The  young  recruits 
were  first  taken  round  the  temples,  and  then  put  into 
garrison  in  Mounuchia  and  Peiraieus.  They  had  masters 
and  under-masters  appointed  for  them  by  the  Sophronistai 
to  teach  them  the  use  of  heavy  arms,  and  also  of  the 
bow,  javelin,  and  catapult.  There  were  also  two  Paido- 
tribai,  for  gymnastics.  These  masters,  together  with 
later  introductions  such  as  literary  teachers,  chaplains, 
doctors,  and  so  forth,  appear  regularly  in  the  inscriptions 
after  300  b.c.^  The  Sophronistai  were  paid  a  drachma 
a  day  for  their  services.  They  also  received  four  obols 
for  every  ephebos  in  their  tribe,  out  of  which  they  had 
to  provide  the  rations,  etc.  ;  the  ephebos  did  not  handle 
the  money  himself.     Each  tribe  messed  together.^ 

Besides  the  Sophronistai  and  Kosmetes,  the  Council 
of  the  Areiopagos  also  kept  a  watch  over  the  epheboi. 
Discipline  seems  to  have  been  fairly  strict  :  the 
Axiochos^  talks  of  ''rods  and  immensities  of  evils." 
But  there  were  plenty  of  amusements,  and,  apparently, 
plenty  of  vacations.  There  were  a  very  large  number 
of  special  festivals,  in  which  the  epheboi  took  part. 
There  were  also  the  torch-races  at  the  feasts  of  Hephaistos 
and  Prometheus,  for  teams  of  epheboi  from  each  tribe, 
trained  at  the  expense  of  a  gumnasiarchos.  The  epheboi 
had  also  a  special  part  of  the  theatre  reserved  for  them.* 

No  doubt  a  large  part  of  the  time  of  these  epheboi 
was  spent  in  severe  physical  exercise  in  the  gymnasia. 
The  analogy  of  the  epheboi  in  Plato's  Republic  and 
Laws  would  suggest  this.  The  Axiochos  mentions, 
as  consequent  upon  enrolment  in  the  epheboi,  **  the 
Lukeion     and    Akademeia,"    i.e.    practices    in     these 

1  e.g.  C.LA.  ii.  316.  338.  2  Aristot.  'A^.  IIoX.  42.  3. 

^  [Plato]  Axiochosy  367  a.  ■*  Schol.  on  Aristoph.  Birdzy  794. 


214  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

gymnasia.  Xenophon,^  just  before  mentioning  the 
''  peripoloi "  or  epheboi  in  their  second  year,  talks  of 
"  those  who  are  ordered  to  practise  gymnastic  exer- 
cises," clearly  referring  to  this  period.  He  suggests 
that  their  duties  would  be  better  and  more  cheerfully 
performed  if  they  received  a  larger  supply  of  rations 
than  those  who  were  training  for  torch-races  ;  to  these 
latter  no  doubt  a  liberal  gumnasiarchos  might  serve 
out  meals  costing  much  more  than  four  obols  a  day. 
Probably  those  who  were  physically  inferior  alone  were 
told  off  for  these  compulsory  gymnastics  :  Xenophon's 
phrase  seems  to  distinguish  them  from  the  epheboi 
selected  for  the  torch-race,  who  would  naturally  be  the 
physically  fittest  in  the  tribal  contingent. 

At  the  end  of  their  first  year  of  training,  the  epheboi 
appeared  in  the  theatre  at  the  great  Dionusia  to  show 
off  their  military  evolutions  and  the  drill  which  they 
had  learned.  After  the  review  they  received  a  spear 
and  shield  from  the  State.^  The  sons  of  those  who 
had  fallen  in  battle,  being  the  wards  of  the  State,^ 
received  a  complete  outfit  of  armour.  These  arms, 
which  the  epheboi  received  from  the  State,  were 
considered  to  be  sacred  :  consequently  to  throw  away 
the  shield  in  flight  was  regarded  as  a  serious  offence, 
almost  an  act  of  sacrilege.* 

After  receiving  their  arms  from  the  State,  the 
epheboi  where  marched  out  of  Athens,  and  spent  most 
of  the  next  year  patrolling  the  country  and  frontiers, 
and  garrisoning  the  forts.^     Attica  was  studded  with 

^  Xen.  Revenues,  iv.  52.         2  Aristot.  'A^.  11  oX.  42.  4.         ^  Thuc.  ii.  46. 

*  Lusias,  X.  I,  and  Aristophanes  anent  ¥A.ton\xmos,  passim. 

^  Properly  speaking,  it  was  only  during  his  second  year  that  the  cphebos  was  a 
peripolos  or  patrol.  Aischines,  however,  claims  to  have  served  two  years  as  a 
peripolos.  The  term  may  have  been  used  loosely,  or  else  in  times  of  crisis  the 
epheboi  may  have  been  hurried  off  to  the  frontier  as  soon  as  they  were  enrolled. 


I 


I 


H  ^     o 

Z  CU     - 

o  *^  a 

•*  oo     ^ 

*:  'B 

O  a       ► 

52  -^    J5 

w  s^    .iJ 

v.       3 

§  I     ^ 

->  So   *i 

A/  ^          .2 

<  2t2 


CHAP.  VII      TERTIARY  EDUCATION  215 

these  irepLiroXia  or  patrol -stations,  from  Oino6  and 
Phule  on  the  north-western  frontier  to  Anaphlustos 
and  Thorikos  in  the  south.  The  epheboi,  like  the 
/cpviTTOL  in  Plato's  Laws  and  at  Sparta,  were  shifted 
about  from  district  to  district,  in  order  that  they  might 
acquire  a  thorough  knowledge  of  their  country's 
geographical  peculiarities.  The  tribal  companies,  into 
which  they  were  divided,  relieved  one  another  in  various 
stations.  Thus  in  the  course  of  334-333  we  know 
that  both  the  Hippothontid  and  the  Kekropid  tribes 
were  successively  stationed  at  Eleusis,  for  the  people 
of  that  district  pass  two  separate  votes  of  thanks  to 
them  for  the  excellent  discipline  which  they  had 
preserved.^  There  may  also  have  been  open-air 
camps  :  the  Eleusinian  inscriptions  talk  of  viraiOpiOL. 

The  epheboi  seem  to  have  been  assisted  in  their 
patrol -duties  by  a  mercenary  force  of  foreigners. 
Thucydides  ^  declares  that  Phrunichos  was  assassinated 
by  a  peripolos  :  the  Athenian  people,  according  to 
Lusias,  rewarded  Thrasuboulos  of  Kaludon  as  the 
slayer  and  recorded  his  name  on  a  pillar.^  If  the 
historian  had  meant  to  dispute  this  award,  he  must  have 
referred  to  it,  for  it  was  clearly  the  accepted  version. 
He  also  states  that  the  plot  was  arranged  at  the  house 
of  the  captain  of  the  peripoloi,  and  mentions  an 
Argive  as  one  of  the  accomplices  :  Lusias  mentions 
a  Megarian.  Both  these  foreigners  were  probably 
peripoloi.  But  foreign  youths  cannot  at  this  period 
have  been  permitted  to  serve  with  the  tribal  companies 
of  epheboi.  A  legend,  it  is  true,  asserts  that  this 
privilege  was  granted  to  the  young  men  of  Kos,  in 
honour  of  the  great  doctor  Hippokrates  ;    but  even 

1   C.I. A.  iv.  ii.  574  D,  and  563  b. 
2  Thuc.  viii.  92.  ^  Lusias,  xiii.  71. 


2i6  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

this  only  shows  that  all  other  states  were  excluded. 
Indeed,  foreigners  were  not  enrolled  among  the 
Athenian  epheboi  until  a  much  later  epoch,  when  the 
system  was  no  longer  military. 

What,  then,  was  this  ''  Foreign  Legion "  ?  M. 
Girard  identifies  it  with  the  Mounted  Archers,  on  the 
strength  of  a  passage  in  Aristophanes'  Birds.  An 
unknown  deity  has  invaded  the  territory  of  Cloud- 
Cuckoo  town.  Peisthetairos  exclaims,  "Why  didn't 
you  despatch  peripoloi  after  him  at  once  ?  "  To  which 
the  messenger  replies,  "  We  did  send  30,000  Mounted 
Archers."  The  inscriptions  at  Eleusis  also  make  a  force 
of  non-citizen  troops  serve  under  the  captain  of  the 
peripoloi.  These  mercenary  troops,  having  no  civil 
duties,  would  naturally  be  used  as  a  patrol.  More- 
over, to  an  Athenian,  *'  archer  "  meant  "  policeman." 
Athens  was  policed  by  foreign  "  Archers  "  :  it  would  be 
natural  for  Attica  to  be  policed  in  like  manner,  only 
by  a  mounted  force,  as  a  greater  distance  had  to  be 
covered.-^  But  it  is  also  possible  that  the  non- Athenian 
peripoloi  were  the  sons  of  fieroiKOf,  laoreXel^,  who, 
being  forced  to  serve  as  hoplites  when  grown  up,  would 
require  some  preliminary  training  ;  these  alien  hoplites 
are  coupled  by  Thucydides  ^  with  the  recruits  and 
veterans,  who  garrisoned  the  Athenian  walls  and  forts  ; 
they  seem  to  have  served  as  a  perpetual  patrol. 

The  first  three  classes  of  Athenian  citizens  in  wealth 
must  all  have  passed  through  this  training  ;  for, 
although  the  two  first  were  liable  to  cavalry  service, 
they  might  also  be  called  upon  to  serve  as  hopHtes.^ 
Rich  young  epheboi,  who  had  plenty  of  time  on  their 

^  The  force  may  also  have  included  citizens,  for  the  younger  Alkibiades  once 
served  in  it  (Lus.  xv.  6).  But  that  was  a  special  occasion,  when  the  ordinary 
cavalry  had  refused  to  receive  him. 

2  Thuc.  ii.  13.  6-7.  3  Lug,  ^^^i  j^^  ^iv.  10. 


i 


I 


CHAP.  VII      TERTIARY  EDUCATION  217 

hands,  would  naturally  learn  both  cavalry  and  infantry 
drill.  The  poorer  Zeugitai  would  only  have  to  learn 
their  duties  as  heavy  infantry,  and  were  probably 
allowed  to  spend  a  good  proportion  of  their  time  on 
their  farms  in  Attica.  But  what  about  the  fourth 
class,  the  Thetes  ?  They  were  not  liable  to  be  called 
out  as  hoplites,  but  had  to  serve  on  land  as  light- 
armed  troops  or  at  sea  as  rowers.  Did  they  also  have 
a  recruit  course  ?  Now  the  garrisons  of  the  Athenian 
forts  and  walls  were  hoplites  :  ^  there  is  no  trace  of  the 
Thetes  here.  But  the  patrol  duties  in  the  mountains 
can  hardly  have  been  performed  by  heavy  troops  :  it 
is  noticeable  that  in  Xenophon  light  troops  are 
suggested  for  this  purpose,  when  Sokrates  is  develop- 
ing an  elaborate  scheme  for  holding  the  frontiers  of 
Attica  against  all  invaders.^  In  the  next  century,  at 
any  rate,  light  troops  were  used  for  this  purpose. 
In  a  later  work  Xenophon  talks  of  "those  who  are 
ordered  to  occupy  the  forts  and  those  who  have  to 
serve  as  peltasts  and  patrol  the  country,"  ^  in  a  passage 
where  he  is  clearly  referring  to  the  epheboi.  Thus 
there  are  two  classes,  the  garrisons,  who  would 
naturally  be  hoplites,  and  the  patrols,  who  are  peltasts, 
suitably  equipped  for  mountaineering.  But  the  peltasts 
only  began  to  appear  towards  the  close  of  the  Pelopon- 
nesian  War  :  the  first  mention  of  them  is  in  Thucy- 
dides'  account  of  the  army  of  Brasidas.  Before  this 
time,  the  light  troops  were  archers  and  some  slingers  ; 
thus,  in  the  monument  to  those  of  the  Erechtheid  tribe 
who  fell  in  the  year  459,  after  the  hoplites  four  archers 
are  mentioned.^     But  they  were  a  small  force  :   there 

1  Thuc.  ii.  13.  6-7.  2  Xen.  Mem.  iii.  5.  27. 

^  Xen.  Re-venues,  iv.  52. 

■*  C.I.A.  1.  143.     Cp.  C./.^.  1.  79  for  citizen-archers. 


21 8  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  parti 

were  only  1600  of  them  in  431  B.C.  The  majority 
of  the  Thetes  served  in  the  ships.  In  the  Birds  of 
Aristophanes,  which  appeared  in  414,  when  it  was  a 
question  of  repelling  a  sudden  raid,  just  after  the 
peripoloi  have  been  mentioned,  Peisthetairos  bids  his 
immediate  attendants  arm  themselves  with  slings  and 
bows  :  these  are  clearly  the  weapons  for  a  flying  column 
despatched  in  pursuit  of  raiders.^ 

The  passage  of  Xenophon  makes  it  clear  that  there 
were  peltasts  in  the  ephebic  force  in  the  fourth  century  ; 
that  of  Aristophanes  suggests  the  probability  of  archers 
and  sHngers  among  them  in  the  fifth.  But  whether 
these  light -armed  troops  consisted  of  enterprising 
Zeugitai  who  added  this  training  to  their  hoplite  drill, 
or  were  a  small  detachment  of  Thetes,  cannot  be  fixed. 
Thetes  must,  at  any  rate,  not  have  been  numerous  in 
the  ephebic  force,  for  they  could  not  have  spared  the 
time  necessary  for  such  lengthy  training.^ 

As  a  rule,  the  epheboi  were  not  expected  to  do  more 
than  guard  the  frontier  and  repel  an  occasional  foray  : 
even  this,  however,  must  have  given  them  plenty  of 
employment  in  war-time.  But  they  shared  in  Muronides' 
great  victory  in  the  Megarid  in  458,  when  Athens  had 
to  use  her  reserves.^  Either  they  or  the  "  foreign 
legion  "  joined  in  a  later  invasion  of  Megara.*  But 
as  a  rule  they  served  for  home  defence  only.  Their 
recruit-course  ended  with  their  twentieth  year  :  hence- 
forth they  were  ordinary  Athenian  citizens  and  soldiers. 

In  about  332  b.c,  when  Lukourgos  delivered  his 
speech  against  Leokrates,  the  old  ephebic  system  seems 

^  It  is  noticeable  that  in  Aristotle's  time  the  epheboi  were  taught  by  a  "  Teacher 
of  Archery."     He  may  be  a  survival. 

"^  In  Boiotia  and  the  Megarid  the  epheboi  served  as  cavalry,  hoplites,  or  peltasts 
(C./.G.  Boiot.  and  Meg.  2715,  2717-21,  1747-48,  etc.). 

^  Thuc.  i.  105.  4  /^/^^  iy^  67. 


i 


CHAP.  VII      TERTIARY  EDUCATION 


219 


still  to  have  been  in  force.  The  suggestion  that 
Leokrates  might  have  evaded  the  ephebic  oath  is  only 
rhetorical,  for  the  orator  immediately  goes  on  to  assume 
that  he  took  it.^  In  328,  the  probable  date  of  Aristotle's 
Athenian  Constitution y  it  seems  still  to  have  been  in 
existence,  for  the  philosopher  records  it  as  part  of  the 
contemporary  regime.  The  inscriptions  support  these 
authorities.  A  list  of  epheboi  of  the  Kekropid  tribe 
enrolled  in  334  is  given  under  the  vote  of  thanks  : 
the  upper  part  of  the  list  is  gone,  but  the  numbers  were 
apparently  large.^  Some  forty-four  names  can  be  in- 
ferred from  the  fragments,  belonging  to  six  or  seven 
demes  out  of  the  twelve  which  composed  the  tribe  ;  but 
apparently  the  smallest  contingents  are  at  the  bottom, 
so  there  may  well  have  been  a  hundred  names  in  the 
tribe,  and  1000  epheboi  altogether.  Considering  the 
impoverishment  of  Attica  and  the  consequent  decrease 
in  the  hoplite  classes,  this  is  probably  a  fair  proportion 
of  epheboi.^  A  tribal  contingent  is  still  large  enough 
to  serve  as  a  garrison  for  Eleusis,  and  to  act  by  itself. 

But  in  the  next  century  the  numbers  drop  down  to 
twenty-nine  and  twenty-three.  The  service  must  have 
been  voluntary.  Moreover,  brothers  are  found  serving 
together,  from  which  it  may  be  inferred  that  the  exact 
age  qualification  was  no  longer  regarded.*  Philosophy 
and  literature  become  subjects  of  study ;  and  a 
library,  swollen  by  gifts  from  old  epheboi,  is  collected. 
Foreigners  begin  to  be  enrolled  in  the  second  century, 


1  Luk.  ag.  Leok.  76.  2  c.I.A.  iv.  ii.  563  b. 

3  In  431  B.C.  Athens  had  13,000  hoplites  of  between  twenty  and  forty  years  of 
age.  On  this  average  there  would  be  perhaps  about  1000  epheboi  per  year,  or  2000 
altogether — the  same  number  as  here.  The  16,000  of  the  reserve  in  431  includes 
veterans  and  metics  as  well  as  epheboi. 

*  The  changes  seem  to  have  happened  shortly  before  305,  for  in  an  inscription 
of  that  year  the  numbers  have  dropped  greatly  and  brothers  serve  together. 


220  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

and  in  course  of  time  outnumber  the  native  Athenians. 
Although  the  old  military  service  is  preserved,  no  doubt 
in  a  mummified  condition,  the  system  of  the  epheboi 
develops  into  the  Athenian  university,  where  young 
Romans  like  Cicero's  son  came  to  learn  philosophy, 
though  they  had  little  to  learn  from  Athens  in  military 
matters.  The  Sophronistai  and  Kosmetes  become  the 
Proctors  and  Chancellor,  the  special  festivals  the  com- 
pulsory services,  of  the  new  University.  The  torch- 
races,  the  military  duties,  and  the  naval  races  ^  become 
its  athletics.  It  is  the  old  conscription  system  of 
Athens,  not  the  schools  of  Plato  or  .Isokrates,  that 
gives  birth  to  the  first  University. 

The  system  of  epheboi  was  represented  at  Sparta 
by  the  KpvinoL  We  hear  of  an  archephebos  at  Argos, 
and  a  gumnasiarchos  who  manages  the  epheboi  at 
Troizen.^  In  the  Megarid  and  in  Boiotia  the  epheboi 
were  trained  as  cavalry,  hoplites,  or  peltasts.^  An 
ephebarchos  can  be  traced  in  Teos.  There  were 
patrol-houses,  and  so  possibly  epheboi  patrols  in  the 
territory  of  Syracuse.*  This  period  of  special  training 
for  military  duties  seems  to  have  been  general  all  over 
Hellas.  Plato  adopts  it  without  demur  in  the  Republic 
and  Laws. 

1  C.I.A.  ii.  466.  470.  2  c.I.G.  Pelop.  589,  749,  753. 

^  See  note  2  on  p.  218.  *  Thuc.  vi.  45,  vii.  48. 


CHAP.  VII      TERTIARY  EDUCATION  221 


THE   EPHEBIC   INSCRIPTIONS   OF  THE 
FOURTH   CENTURY 

(Dealing  with  Attica  only) 

I.  C.I.A  IV.  ii.  574  d. 

"The  epheboi  of  the  Hippothontid  tribe,  who  were  enrolled 
when  Ktesikles  was  Archon  (334-333  B.C.),  having  been 
crowned  by  the  Boule  and  Demos,  offered  this  offering." 

Then  follows  a  mutilated  vote  of  thanks  from  the  people 
of  Eleusis  to  the  epheboi  for  the  discipHne  which  they  had 
preserved  while  garrisoning  the  town,  and  to  their  Sophronistes, 
who  is  to  receive  a  crown,  and  to  have  a  front  seat  at  local 
festivals. 

II.  C.LA,  IV.  ii.  563  b. 

Decrees  in  honour  of  the  epheboi  of  the  Kekropid  tribe. 

{a)  By  the  Kekropid  tribe. 

"Kallikrates  of  Aixon6  proposed.  Whereas  the  epheboi 
of  the  Kekropid  tribe,  who  were  enrolled  when  Ktesikles  was 
Archon  (334-333  B.C.),  are  orderly  and  do  everything  that  the 
laws  enjoin  upon  them,  and  are  obedient  to  the  Sophronistes 
appointed  by  the  people,  we  pass  a  vote  of  thanks  to  them  and 
crown  them  with  a  golden  crown  of  500  drachmas  for  their 
excellent  discipHne  and  behaviour.  We  also  pass  a  vote  of 
thanks  to  the  Sophronistes,  Adeistos,  son  of  Anti machos,  and 
award  him  a  golden  crown  of  the  aforesaid  weight,  for  that  he 
hath  well  and  diligently  directed  the  epheboi  of  the  Kekropid 
tribe.  This  vote  to  be  recorded  on  a  stone  pillar  and  set 
up  in  the  shrine  of  Kekrops." 


222  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  i 

(b)  Vote  of  the  Athenian  people. 

"  Hegemachos,  son  of  Chairemon,  proposed.  Whereas  the 
epheboi  of  the  Kekropid  tribe  stationed  at  Eleusis  do  well  and 
diligently  pay  heed  to  the  orders  of  the  Boule  and  Demos, 
and  do  behave  themselves  orderly,  we  pass  a  vote  of  thanks 
to  them  for  their  good  discipHne  and  behaviour,  and  enact  that 
each  of  them  be  crowned  with  an  olive  crown.  We  also 
pass  a  vote  of  thanks  to  their  Sophronistes,  Adeistos,  son  of 
Antimachos,  and  decree  to  him  a  crown  of  olive,  when  he  has 
passed  his  scrutiny.  This  vote  to  be  recorded  on  the  offering 
which  the  epheboi  of  the  Kekropid  tribe  offer." 

(c)  Vote  of  Eleusinians. 

"  Protias  proposed.  Whereas  the  epheboi  of  the  Kekropid 
tribe  and  their  Sophronistes,  Adeistos,  son  of  Antimachos,  do 
well  and  diligently  garrison  Eleusis,  the  people  of  the  deme 
pass  a  vote  of  thanks  to  them  and  crown  each  of  them  with 
a  crown  of  olive." 

The  vote  to  be  recorded  as  before. 

(d)  Similar  vote  of  the  Athmonian  deme  in  honour  of  their 
fellow-demesman,  Adeistos. 

With  this  is  a  list  of  the  epheboi  in  question,  much 
mutilated. 

III.  CJ.J.  IV.  ii.  1571  b. 

"Theophanes,  son  of  Hierophon,  offered  this  to  Hermes, 
having  been  crowned  by  the  epheboi  and  Sophronistai  and 
Kosmetai." 

This  is  signed  by  the  epheboi  for  the  years  333-332,  332- 
331,  and  331-330. 

IV.  CJ.J,  IV.  ii.  251  b. 

A  vote  of  thanks  from  the  Boule  and  Demos  to  the  epheboi 
as  a  whole  for  their  exemplary  behaviour,  and  to  their  Kosmetes 
and  Sophronistai  and  teachers.  A  mutilated  list  of  epheboi 
follows.     This  belongs  to  the  year  305-304  B.C. 


CHAP.  VII      TERTIARY  EDUCATION  223 

V.  C.LA.  IV.  ii.  565  b. 

A  vote  of  thanks  of  the  Pandionid  tribe  to  Philonides,  who 
had  been  elected  by  the  people  Sophronistes  of  their  epheboi, 
and  had  performed  his  duty  well. 

VI.  Bockh,  214  (belonging  to  320  B.C.). 
(Dug  up  at  Aixon^.) 

An  extract : — "  We  pass  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  Sophronistai 
and  crown  each  of  them  with  a  crown  of  olive,  namely,  Kimon, 
son  of  Megakles,  and  Puthodoros',  son  of  Putheas  ...  for  the 
zeal  they  showed  in  regard  to  the  all-night  revel." 

The  epheboi  took  part  in  a  sacrifice  and  revel  in  honour 
of  Hebe.  Apparently,  as  a  rule,  they  were  noisy  and  gave 
trouble  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighbourhood.  But  this 
year  they  were  kept  in  order  by  the  Sophronistai.  Hence  the 
vote. 


k 


PART   II 
THE  THEORY  OF   EDUCATION 


225 


i 


CHAPTER  VIII 

RELIGION    AND    EDUCATION    IN    HELLAS 

The  greater  part  of  the  religious  instruction  in  Hellas 
was  given  outside  the  schools,  in  the  home  and  in  public 
life.  The  child  learnt  the  current  ritual  observances 
proper  to  each  particular  deity  or  occasion  by  partici- 
pating in  them  himself.  His  religious  devotion  was 
practised  and  stimulated  by  the  festivals  and  sacred 
songs  and  dances  which  made  up  so  large  a  part  of 
Hellenic  life.  In  a  religion  like  the  Hellenic,  which 
was  so  largely  a  matter  of  forms  and  ceremonies,  there 
was  little  dogma  to  be  learnt  by  children  ;  no  catechism, 
no  sectarian  teaching  was  necessary.  Such  dogma  as 
there  was  consisted  in  the  myths  which  were  current 
about  the  various  deities  and  heroes  ;  and  of  these 
myths  there  were  so  many  varieties  that  heterodoxy 
about  them  became  almost  impossible. 

Such  as  it  was,  this  dogma,  consisting  of  manifold 
and  often  contradictory  myths,  was  enshrined  in  the 
poetry  of  the  race,  so  that  most  of  the  poems  became 
sacred  books,  regarded  by  the  orthodox  as  inspired. 
This  sacred  literature,  as  we  have  seen,  was  the  chief 
object  of  study  in  the  primary  schools  at  Athens,  where 
it  was  read,  written,  and  learnt  by  heart.  At  Sparta 
almost  the  whole  of  literary  and  intellectual  education 
consisted  of  sacred  songs  in  honour  of  gods  and  heroes. 

227 


228  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  ii 

The  myths  were  the  very  essence  of  primary  education 
in  Hellas. 

In  order  to  understand  the  attitude  of  the  educa- 
tional theorists  towards  these  myths  which  run  through 
most  of  the  Hellenic  poetry,  it  is  necessary  to 
realise  the  extraordinary  authority  which  was  given  to 
the  poets,  and  especially  to  Homer  and  Hesiod.  Every 
word  of  them  was  regarded  as  inspired  and  strictly 
true  :  their  authority  was  indisputable.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  the  sixth  century  an  interpolated  line  in  the 
Iliad  was  made  the  main  support  of  the  Athenian 
claim  to  the  Island  of  Salamis.  Gelon,  the  tyrant  of 
Syracuse,  according  to  the  current  legend,  was  refused 
the  command  of  the  Hellenic  forces  against  Persia 
because,  as  the  Spartan  envoy  put  it,  Agamemnon 
would  groan  if  he  heard  of  such  a  thing,  and  because 
Homer  had  said  that  an  Athenian  was  the  best  man  at 
drawing  up  and  marshalling  a  host,  for  which  cause  the 
Athenians  now  claimed  the  command.-^  That  such 
arguments  could  be  employed  shows  in  what  veneration 
Homer  was  held.  He  was  considered  to  be  especially 
inspired.^  His  admirers  asserted  that  he  had  educated 
Hellas,  and  that  his  works  provided  fit  instruction  for 
the  whole  conduct  of  life.^  More  specifically,  it  was  said 
that  "The  divine  Homer  won  his  glory  and  renown 
from  this,  that  he  taught  good  things,  drill,  valour  and 
the  arming  of  troops."  *  He  was  misquoted  to  support 
peculiar  views,  as  in  Plato.^  People  had  their  favourite 
texts  :  Socrates'  was  "  In  due  proportion  to  thy  means 
pay  honour  to  the  gods."  It  was  a  not  unheard-of  accom- 
plishment to  know  the  whole  Iliad  and  Odyssey  by  heart. 

^  Herod,  vii.  1 59-161.  ^  piato,  /o«,  24  c. 

'  Rep.  606  E.     So  in  Isokrates,  To  Nikokles,  530  B. 

*  Aristoph.  Frogs^  1034- 1036.  ^  Plato,  Rep.  391  b. 


CH.  VIII    RELIGION  AND  EDUCATION  229 

Moral  lessons  were  drawn  from  them.  Thus  the  story 
of  Kirke  was  a  warning  against  self-indulgence.  Kirk6 
made  the  companions  of  Odusseus  swine  through  their 
over-indulgence  in  the  pleasures  of  the  table  ;  Odusseus 
himself,  by  Hermes'  advice  and  his  own  self-restraint 
in  such  matters,  escaped  this  fate.^ 

In  time,  however,  the  higher  morality  of  the  leading 
Hellenic  thinkers  revolted  against  the  low  morality,  to 
say  nothing  more,  of  much  of  the  mythology  em- 
bodied in  the  poets.  Xenophanes  began  the  attack. 
"  Homer  and  Hesiod,'*  he  cries,  "  ascribed  to  the 
gods  all  that  is  considered  disgraceful  among  men." 
Herakleitos  declared  that  Homer  deserved  a  thrashing. 
Even  the  pious  Pindar  tried  to  alter  some  of  the  myths 
to  suit  his  own  morality,  and  Aeschylus  fights  hard 
for  an  underlying  monotheism.  In  the  next  genera- 
tion the  storm  broke  :  awakening  intelligence,  fostered 
by  the  Sophists  and  the  philosophers,  shrank  away 
from  the  horrors  of  the  Theogony.  Tragedy,  by 
bringing  mythology  before  the  eyes,  had  made  its 
impossibility  more  apparent.  The  researches  of  the 
earlier  historians  in  comparative  mythology  had  under- 
mined the  bases  of  belief.  Herodotos  had  found  that  a 
god  named  Herakles  had  been  recognised  in  Egypt 
17,000  years  before  his  time  ;  consequently] the  Hellenic 
Herakles,  only  six  centuries  before  the  historian's  age, 
must  be  only  a  man  of  the  same  name.^  Rationalism 
began  to  master  the  mythology  :  Thucydides  tried  to 
apply  scientific  methods  to  the  Trojan  War,  making,  for 

1  Sokrates  in  Xenophon,  Mem.  i.  3,  7.     The  moralisation  is  quite  un-Homeric. 

2  Herod,  ii.  43-46.  This  tendency  culminated  in  Euhemeros,  at  the  end  of  the 
fourth  century,  who  claimed  to  have  found  inscriptions  in  Crete  giving  the  careers  of 
mortal  kings  named  Ouranos,  Kronos,  and  Zeus.  He  argued  that  the  gods  were 
distinguished  men,  deified  by  admiring  posterity.  His  theory  passed  to  Rome  in 
Ennius'  translation  and  supported  the  imperial  cult. 


230  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  ii 

example,  its  duration  due  to  the  difficulty  of  obtaining 
supplies  for  so  large  a  force.  The  rationalism  of 
Euripides  is  well  known.  Metrodoros,  a  pupil  of 
Anaxagoras,  made  the  gods  natural  forces  and  varieties 
of  matter — a  device  already  employed  by  Empedokles 
for  poetical  convenience.  In  this  way  Sokrates 
rationalises  the  Boreas-myth  in  the  Fhaidros}  where 
Plato  states  that  the  wise  disbelieve  such  tales  ;  but 
Sokrates  was  too  busy  studying  his  own  personality 
to  raise  all  these  numerous  questions,  so  he  accepts 
the  customary  belief  The  defenders  of  Homer,  led 
by  Metrodoros  and  Stesimbrotos,^  tried  to  allegorise 
him,  declaring  that  the  worst  myths  had  a  moral 
meaning  in  the  background.  The  allegories  were 
often  ludicrous  :  Plato  rejects  them  wholly  for  educa- 
tional purposes,  as  children  always  take  the  literal 
interpretation. 

But  pubHc  opinion  was  still  fiercely  attached  to  the 
old  deities,  as  the  incident  of  the  Hermai  and  the 
condemnation  of  Anaxagoras,  Protagoras,  and  Sokrates 
showed.  The  deities  could  not  be  sacrificed  :  conse- 
quently it  was  the  myths  that  had  to  go.  The  myths 
said  that  Zeus  dethroned  his  own  father  and  committed 
adultery  :  if  the  myth  is  true,  since  Zeus  is  Supreme 
God,  these  crimes  are  justifiable.^  Therefore  the  myth 
must  be  untrue.  Homer  and  Hesiod  lied  :  their  works 
are  mainly  a  blasphemous  fiction.*  Isokrates^  sums 
up  this  new  attitude.  "The  poets,"  he  declares, 
"  blasphemously  represented  the  sons  of  the  Immortals 
as  having  done  and  suffered  worse  deeds  than  the  most 
impious  of  men  :    they  spoke  such  things  about   the 

1  Plato,  Thaidr.  229  c. 

Plato,  /o«,  530.     Cp.  Xen.  Banquet,  iii.  6,  where  Anaximandros  is  mentioned. 
'  Cp.  Aristoph.  Clouds,  905,  1080,  representing  "  Sophist  "  arguments. 
*  Plato,  Rep.  377  D.  8  i,ok,  ^^aj.  228  D. 


cH.viii    RELIGION  AND  EDUCATION         231 

gods  as  no  one  would  venture  to  allege  of  his  worst 
enemy  ;  not  only  do  they  make  them  steal,  commit 
adultery,  and  fall  into  slavery  to  mortals,  but  even 
represent  them  as  eating  their  children,  mutilating  their 
fathers,  and  binding  their  mothers  in  chains.  .  .  .  For 
this  the  poets  did  not  go  unpunished,  but  some  of  them 
were  wanderers  and  begged  their  bread,  some  became 
blind,  another  was  an  exile  all  his  life  long,  and  Orpheus, 
who  devoted  himself  especially  to  such  stories,  was  torn 
in  pieces."  -^ 

The  greatest  objection  to  these  immoral  legends  was 
that  they  were  taught  in  the  nursery  and  the  elementary 
school,  at  the  most  impressionable  age.^  Hence  Plato 
wishes  to  lay  down  strict  canons  for  the  myths,  legends, 
and  fables  which  are  to  be  taught  to  children.  **  For 
the  beginning  of  everything  is  half  the  battle,  especially 
in  the  case  of  what  is  young  and  tender.  Young 
children  are  like  soft  wax,  ready  to  take  a  clear  and 
deep  impression  of  any  seal  which  is  laid  upon  them. 
Hence  the  immense  importance  of  the  earliest  stages  of 
education,  the  myths  and  stories  taught  in  the  nursery 
and  at  school.  .  .  .  The  compositions  of  Homer  and 
Hesiod  are  fiction,  and  unlovely  fiction  at  that ;  even 
if  true,  they  had  better  not  be  told  to  the  young  and 
undiscerning.  .  .  .  The  myths  must  be  improving  on 
the  surface,  not  by  allegory."  ^ 

Plato  is  not  prepared  to  rewrite  the  Hellenic  Bible  : 
he  will  only  draw  up  the  canons  which  the  poets  must 
follow.  It  is  to  be  noticed  that  these  canons  are 
peculiar,  and  would  exclude  not  merely  most  of  Homer 
and  Hesiod,  but  a  large  part  of  the  Old  and  some  of 

'  Cp.  the  statement  of  Herodotos  (ii.   53)  that  Homer  and  Hesiod  created  the 
details  of  Hellenic  mythology,  even  the  names  and  functions  of  the  deities. 
2  Plato,  Rep.  377  B.  3  Ibid,  378. 


232  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  partii 

the  New  Testament.  The  first  canon  is  that  God,  being 
good,  cannot  be  the  cause  or  originator  of  any  harm  or 
evil  to  mankind  ;  for  these  things  some  other  cause 
must  be  discovered.  The  greater  part  of  the  human 
lot  is  evil ;  so  God  is  not  the  cause  of  the  majority  of 
human  events. 

This  excludes  Homer's  lines : 

Two  butts  of  human  fortunes  by  the  gates  of  Heaven  stood, 
One  full  of  all  things  evil,  and  one  of  all  things  good. 
To  whom  God  gives  a  mixture,  his  life  is  weal  and  woe, 
But  to  whom  He  gives  of  the  evil  alone,  he  lives  as  a  beggar 
below. 

And 

Zeus  is  the  world's  housekeeper,  who  serves  out  weal  and  woe. 

And  Aeschylus' 

God  plants  the  seed  of  sin  among  mankind. 
Whene'er  He  wills  to  bring  a  race  to  naught. 

If  God  is  represented  as  the  cause  of  misfortunes, 
the  poet  must  say  that  the  misfortunes  were  good  for 
the  sufferers,  making  them  better  and  happier.^ 

The  second  canon  is  that  God  is  not  a  wizard, 
appearing  now  in  one  form,  now  in  another.  Why 
should  He  change  ?  External  forces  are  not  likely  to 
change  Him  :  He  would  not  change  Himself,  since  it 
would  necessarily  be  a  transition  to  the  less  good  and 
less  beautiful,  since  He  is  perfect.     So  the  lines — 

Disguised  as  human  strangers,  in  many  a  changing  guise, 
Gods  roam  about  the  cities,  to  spy  iniquities, 

and  the  tales  of  Proteus  and  other  metamorphoses,  are 
false.  Consequently  mothers  should  not  tell  their 
children  that  a  god  may  always  be  present  in  disguise, 
for  it  is  a  lie  and  is  also  likely  to  make  the  children 

1  Plato,  Rej>.  380. 


CH.  VIII    RELIGION  AND  EDUCATION         233 

cowardly.  Lying  is  only  useful  in  dealing  with  enemies, 
for  managing  lunatics,  and  for  making  a  satisfactory 
explanation  where  certainty  is  impossible.  God  has  no 
such  reason  for  lying  or  deception. 

The  character  of  the  Deity  having  been  thus  purged 
of  mythological  accretions,  Plato  passes  on  to  the  treat- 
ment of  the  future  state.  This  must  not  be  described 
as  in  any  way  terrible,  or  the  children  will  learn  to 
prefer  dishonourable  life  to  honourable  death.  So 
reject — 

O  better  be  a  poor  man's  serf,  and  share  his  scanty  bread, 
Than  be  the  crowned  king  of  all  the  nations  of  the  dead. 

And 

From  him  his  soul  bewailing  her  hapless  fortunes  fled. 

Her  youth  and  beauty  leaving,  to  the  kingdoms  of  the  dead  ! 

All  such  passages  must  be  expurgated  from  school 
editions  ;  nor  is  it  right  to  admit  the  fearful  scenery  of 
Hell,  the  rivers  of  Hate  (Styx)  and  Wailing  (Kokutos), 
ghosts,  banshees,  and  other  terrible  words,  for  fear  of 
making  the  children  nervous. 

Then  comes  the  discussion  of  the  ideal  man,  in  which 
Achilles  falls  from  the  pedestal  which  he  had  previously 
occupied  as  the  ideal  of  Hellenic  manhood.  Great  men 
must  not  indulge  in  immoderate  lamentations  for  their 
dead  friends.  The  lament  of  Achilles  for  Patroklos 
and  of  Priam  for  Hektor,  when  he  rolled  in  the  dust 
and  the  dungheap,  must  be  rejected.  "  For  if  the 
young  should  take  such  stories  seriously  and  not 
laugh  them  to  scorn  as  contemptibly  improbable,  they 
would  be  most  unlikely  to  consider  such  lamentations 
degrading,  or  to  check  themselves  when  they  felt  any 
impulse  to  act  in  such  a  way,  but,  without  shame  or 


234  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  ii 

restraint,  they  would  whine  out  many  dirges  over  tiny 
misfortunes."  ^ 

Nor  must  the  heroes  be  made  too  fond  of  laughing. 
For  immoderate  laughter  leads  by  reaction  to  immoderate 
grief.     So  reject — 

Then  rose  among  the  blessed  gods  a  laugh  unquenchable. 

The  myths  must  instil  self-control,  obedience  to 
rulers  and  elders  and  to  the  better  instincts.  This 
leads  Plato  to  expurgate — 

Thou  drunkard,  shameless  as  a  dog,  and  fearful  as  a  deer : 

but  commend — 

Good  father,  sit  in  silence,  and  hearken  to  what  I  say. 

Then  Homer  teaches  gluttony,  by  making  Odusseus, 
the  wisest  of  men,  say — 

Best  thing  in  life  I  count  it,  a  heavy-laden  board. 

While  in  the  gobleis  ceaselessly  the  good  strong  wine  is  poured. 

Still  worse  are  the  tales  of  the  lusts  of  Zeus  or  of 
Ares  and  Aphrodite,  and  of  the  covetousness  of  the 
gods. 

Gifts  win  the  heart  of  gods  :  gifts  win  the  heart  of  kings. 

Nor  must  the  heroes  be  allowed  to  blaspheme.  "  My 
respect  for  Homer  makes  me  shrink  from  saying  it, 
but  it  is  impious  to  state  or  to  believe  that  Achilles  was 
ready  to  fight  against  the  river,  a  god,  or  that  he 
dragged  Hektor's  body  round  Patroklos'  tomb  or 
slaughtered  captives  upon  it,  or  that  he  gave  to  the 
dead  Patroklos  the  hair  which  he  had  dedicated  to  the 
river   god   Spercheios."  ^     Nor    must   poets   say   that 

1  Plato,  Rep,  388  D. 

*  Ibid.  391  B.  Plato  maligns  Achilles.  He  only  promised  the  hair  to  Spercheios 
on  condition  that  he  returned  home  alive,  which  he  knew  he  would  not  do  if  he 
slew  Hektor. 


CH.  VIII    RELIGION  AND  EDUCATION  235 

wicked  men  are  enviable,  if  they  are  not  found  out,  or 
that  justice  does  good  to  others  but  is  a  loss  to  oneself. 
On  the  contrary,  they  must  invent  myths  to  establish 
the  opposite,  whether  it  be  true  or  not,  because  it  is 
profitable. 

Plato  cares  very  little  for  literal  truth  in  myth- 
ology ;  he  is  only  desirous  that  the  fiction  should  be 
improving  and  in  accordance  with  sound  ethics.  It 
is  impossible  to  know  the  truth,  he  thinks,  about  things 
primeval  and  the  gods,  so  it  is  necessary  to  invent  stories 
as  near  the  truth  as  possible  and  such  that  they  will  be 
improving.  The  majority  of  men,  as  Isokrates  also 
noticed,  prefer  myths  to  anything  else  ;  for  their  in- 
telligence can  only  grasp  ethical  and  metaphysical  truths 
when  they  are  embodied  in  stories  and  parables  and 
fables.^  These  fictions,  however,  are  like  powerful  drugs : 
their  concoction  must  only  be  entrusted  to  competent 
hands,  or  the  result  will  be  deadly.  The  rulers  of  the 
State,  the  philosophers,  must  construct  the  national 
mythology,  not  unskilled  and  irresponsible  persons  like 
poets.^  Plato  himself  gives  a  good  many  instances 
of  such  profitable  myths  ;  he  enshrines  in  them,  as  in 
a  popular  form,  many  of  his  deepest  beliefs,  his 
psychology,^  his  views  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul,* 
his  political  theory  that  all  men  are  not  equal.^  In  his 
opinion  mythology  was  the  proper  food  for  the  un- 
enlightened many  who  were  incapable  of  philosophic 
certainty  ;    the  philosopher,  by  the  light  of  his  exact 

^  Compare  Tennyson,  In  Memoriam,  xxxvi.  : 

For  Wisdom  dealt  with  mortal  powers, 

Where  tiuth  in  closest  words  shall  fail, 

When  truth  embodied  in  a  tale 
Shall  enter  in  at  lowly  doors. 

2  Plato,  Rep.  389  c.  3  In  the  Phaidroi. 

*  In  the  Republic^  and  elsewhere. 

^  Rep.  414-417,  etc.     For  the  use  which  Plato  made  of  myths  as  popular  exposi- 
tions of  his  views,  cp.  Lawj,  663,  664,  713,  714   716. 


236  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  ii 

knowledge  of  ethics  and  metaphysics,  was  to  concoct 
this  food. 

In  pursuance  of  this  theory  an  ideal  character,  in 
history  or  fiction,  was  required  to  personify  and  make 
real  to  the  multitude  the  disembodied  ideals  of  Ethics.-^ 
Achilles  had  been  tumbled  from  his  pedestal  by  philo- 
sophy. Who  was  to  replace  him?  Plato  tries  to 
put  an  idealised  Sokrates  in  this  position,  but  he  could 
not  square  the  historical  personality  with  the  ideal 
man  postulated  in  the  Republic,  Xenophon,  also 
thinking  that  a  pattern  man  is  "  an  excellent  inven- 
tion for  the  study  of  morality,"  proposes  Agesilaos.^ 
Prodikos  tried  to  make  Herakles  the  model  of  the 
young.  Aristotle  formulated  the  fieya\6'\jrv)(^o^,  but 
never  personified  him.  Stoicism  sought  for  its  Wise 
Man  or  Perfect  Saint,  but  never  found  him  ;  Epi- 
cureanism was  satisfied  with  its  founder.  But  the 
search  for  the  personification  of  the  ethical  ideal  becomes 
the  central  feature  of  Hellenic  philosophy  and  religion 
from  the  time  of  Plato  onwards. 

1  Isokrates  recognised  this  too,  j^tttid.  105  c.  2  Xen.  Ag.  x.  2. 


CHAPTER  IX 

ART,    MUSIC,    AND    POETRY 

Since  poetry,  music,  singing,  and  dancing  were  the 
chief  components  of  a  Hellenic  boy's  education,  the 
aesthetic  canons  by  which  these  were  regulated  came  to 
be  of  great  importance  in  the  moral  history  of  Hellas, 
and  were  the  objects  of  much  thought  and  inquiry  on 
the  part  of  the  educational  theorists.  It  is  hard  for  a 
modern  reader  to  understand  the  attitude  which  Plato 
and  Aristotle  adopt  towards  poetry,  art,  and  music, 
partly  owing  to  the  way  in  which  these  subjects  are 
neglected  in  many  modern  schools,  and  still  more 
owing  to  the  immense  changes  which  have  taken  place 
both  in  the  subjects  themselves  and  in  their  relations 
to  the  State  as  a  whole. 

In  ancient  Hellas  art,  literature,  and  music  were 
addressed  to  the  whole  citizen-body,  not  to  a  cultured 
upper  class.  The  epics  were  recited  to  crowds  that 
might  number  thousands.  The  choral  lyrics  were 
danced  and  sung  by  large  choruses  in  the  presence  of  a 
whole  city.  Tragedy  and  Comedy  were  acted  before 
the  whole  Athenian  populace,  swollen  by  crowds  from 
every  part  of  Hellas.  The  great  orations  were  spoken 
either  to  the  national  assembly,  where  every  grown 
man  might  be  present,  or  to  a  jury  of  several  hundred 

237 


238  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  ii 

citizens.  So  with  Hellenic  art.  The  statues  and 
pictures  were  not  created  for  private  drawing-rooms, 
but  for  public  temples,  colonnades,  or  gymnasia. 

Thus  it  was  national,  not  individual  taste  which 
was  the  standard  of  Hellenic  art  and  literature  :  they 
had  to  follow  the  taste  of  the  city,  not  of  a  clique.  But 
every  city  in  Hellas,  as  in  the  Italy  of  the  Renaissance, 
had  an  intense  individuality  of  its  own,  which  dominated 
its  poets,  artists,  and  musicians.  The  art-schools  of 
the  islands,  of  Argos,  of  Athens  were  as  distinct  from 
one  another  as  those  of  Venice,  Florence,  Perugia. 
The  greater  centres  had  types  of  music  so  far  distinct 
that  they  required  different  instruments.  Language, 
character,  and  politics  in  like  manner  presented  a 
different  aspect  in  each  community.  But  underneath 
this  ubiquitous  local  individuality  lay  the  fundamental 
distinction  between  the  Dorian,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
Ionian,  with  whom  for  aesthetic  purposes  may  be  classed 
the  Aeolian,  on  the  other.  For  Hellenism  began  to 
run  its  course  in  two  distinct  channels,  the  Doric  and 
the  lonic.^ 

The  Doric  characteristics  were  the  sacrifice  of 
the  detail  and  the  individual  to  the  whole  and 
the  community,  a  love  of  terseness  and  simplicity,  a 
strong  sense  of  harmony,  order,  and  proportion,  a  hatred 
of  complexity,  mystery,  vagueness,  and  luxury,  and  a 
preference  for  the  perfect  body  over  the  developed 
intellect.  The  Dorians  were  essentially  one-sided,  and 
lacking  in  imagination,  intellect,  and  invention  ;  they 
were  strong  conservatives,  and  any  innovation  was 
repugnant  to  them. 

The  lonians  were  a  very  different  people.     Indi- 

^  The  characteristics  are  sketched  in  Thuc.  i.  70.     Cp.  the  difference  between 
Florence  and  Venice  in  Renaissance  Italy. 


CHAP.  IX         ART,  MUSIC,  POETRY  239 

vidualism  was  strong  in  them  from  the  first.  They 
had  a  tendency  to  florid ity,  to  exaggeration  of  detail, 
and  to  luxury.  A  quick-witted  and  imaginative  race, 
they  were  fond  of  perpetual  innovation.  Versatility 
was  characteristic  of  them.  They  preferred  intellectual 
to  physical  success.  Their  imagination  outran  their 
powers  of  execution.  They  had  none  of  the  solidity 
of  the  less  brilliant  Dorian,  none  of  his  discipline,  self- 
restraint,  directness,  or  perseverance.  They  were  his 
inferiors  in  most  physical  and  ethical  qualities,  his 
superiors  in  all  intellectual  pursuits. 

Till  the  fifth  century  the  ^two  conflicting  types 
exercise  little  influence  upon  one  another.  The  lonians 
produce  a  sensuous,  dreamy,  refined,  and  imaginative 
sculpture ;  the  Dorians  a  series  of  physically  excellent 
but  wholly  unintellectual  athlete-statues.  The  Aeolians 
produce  the  personal  lyrics  of  love  and  wine  ;  the 
Dorians  the  choral  poetry  of  athletic  triumphs  and 
gymnastic  dances.  The  Dorians  can  claim  the  ethical 
and  coUectivist  philosophy  of  Pythagoras  ;  the  lonians 
the  intellectual  and  individualist  philosophy  of  the  so- 
called  Ionian  schools. 

Athens  during  this  period  was  purely  Ionic,  as  her 
statues,  the  remains  of  which  are  now  being  recovered 
from  the  rubbish  heaps  where  Xerxes  threw  them, 
abundantly  testify.  Further  evidence  comes  from  the 
style  of  dress  shown  in  these  statues  and  in  other  works 
of  art  of  the  period  :  it  is  almost  oriental.^  The  statues 
reveal  an  excess  of  detail  and  over-refinement  :  the 
most  common  type  was  a  draped  woman.  The  Dorians, 
on  the  other  hand,  were  most  successful  in  the  nude 
male  type  ;  and  the  great  Aeginetan  school  quite  failed 
to  represent  the  goddess  Athena. 

^  See  also  Thuc.  i.  6  j  Athen.  512  b.c. 


240  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  partii 

The  same  principle  of  diiFerentiation  applied  to 
music  as  well  as  to  art,  in  Hellas  :  the  Dorian,  the 
Ionian,  the  Aeolian,  as  well  as  the  neighbouring  Phrygian 
and  Lydian,  each  produced  a  type  of  their  own,  or 
"  harmony,"  as  it  was  called.  Each  "  harmony  "  bore  the 
mark  of  the  "  ethos,"  or  moral  character,  of  the  tribe  or 
race  which  produced  it,  plainly  and  unmistakably.  Music 
in  early  Hellas  must  have  been  of  a  primitive  type,  and 
an  acute  musical  ear  had  not  yet  been  developed  by  long 
training.  Consequently,  the  average  Hellenic  audience 
was  in  the  position  of  the  utterly  unmusical  man  of 
modern  times  :  the  complicated  music  of  modern  masters 
would  have  been  wholly  unintelligible  to  them,  and  the 
only  meanings  which  they  could  extract  from  music  were 
certain  broad  ethical  impressions.  The  unmusical  man 
is  stirred  by  a  good  marching  tune,  moved  to  a  certain 
depression  by  a  dirge  or  dead  march,  enlivened  and 
excited  by  a  rollicking  bacchanalian  song,  and  reduced 
to  a  solemn  and  half-religious  frame  of  mind  by  the 
tones  of  a  great  organ.  So  with  the  average  Hellene  : 
he  extracted  this  amount  of  impressions  from  his  music, 
and  no  more.  Any  idea  of  music  as  the  voice  of  the 
unutterable  was  quite  foreign  to  his  mind  ;  in  fact,  he 
disliked  any  music  that  was  unaccompanied  by  singing  : 
tunes  without  words  were  unknown  in  earlier  Hellas. 

How  these  different  harmonies  were  produced,  by 
what  combination  of  notes  and  scales  each  was  regulated, 
may  be  left  to  the  specialists  :  it  is  one  of  those ' 
questions  which  will  probably  never  be  settled  con- 
clusively. The  fact  remains  that  they  existed,  each 
with  an  unmistakable  moral  characteristic  of  its  own. 
But  what  exactly  the  moral  characteristic  of  each  was, 
is  rendered  doubtful  by  the  conflicting  evidence  of 
different   writers  ;  probably,  as    musical  taste  changed 


CHAP.  IX         ART,  MUSIC,  POETRY  241 

and  developed,  the  same  "  harmony  "  came  to  cause  a 
different  impression.  Plato's  ear,  accustomed  to  the 
prevalent  Dorian,  found  the  Lydian  doleful  and  de- 
pressing ;  Aristotle  and  his  contemporaries,  more  used 
to  softer  music,  praised  it  as  valuable  for  educational 
purposes.^  Herakleides  of  Pontos,^  who  made  a 
special  study  of  music,  gives,  in  a  fragment,  a  sketch 
of  the  old  Hellenic  "  harmonies."  The  Dorian, 
according  to  him,  was  manly,  dignified,  stern,  and 
robust,  not  effeminate  nor  merry  nor  variegated  nor 
versatile.^  The  Aeolic,  afterwards  called  "  Hypo- 
Dorian,"  was  haughty  and  pretentious,  rather  conceited, 
not,  however,  base  in  any  way,  but  inflated  and 
confident.  It  was  the  right  music  for  "  woman,  wine, 
and  song."  The  Ionic,  representing  the  old  Ionic 
character  before  the  race  degenerated,  was  passionate, 
headstrong,  contentious,  showing  no  signs  of  benevolence 
or  merriment,  but  revealing  a  certain  hardness  of  heart 
and  temperament.  It  was  not  florid  nor  cheerful,  but 
austere  and  harsh,  with  a  not  ignoble  dignity  which 
fitted  it  to  accompany  Tragedy.  Later,  the  race  and 
the  "  harmony "  seem  to  have  degenerated,  and  are 
charged  with  being  luxurious  and  effeminate.  There 
used  also  to  be  a  Locrian  "  harmony,"  which  was  used 
by  Pindar  and  Simonides,  but  afterwards  it  fell  into 
contempt  and  died  out. 

Besides  these  purely  Hellenic  types,  there  were  two 
which  came  from  barbarian  races,  the  Lydian  and  the 
Phrygian.  Of  the  Lydian  there  were  several  varieties. 
The  Mixed-Lydian  was  doleful  and  suitable  to  dirges  : 

^  No  doubt  all  the  theorists  had  a  fatal  temptation  to  judge  the  harmony  by  the 
opinion  which  they  held  of  the  race  which  produced  it.  The  Lydian  may  have 
recovered  prestige  during  the  fourth  century,  for  it  included  Karian,  and  Karia 
became  a  great  power  under  Mausolos.  ^  Athen.  624  c. 

'  It  is  the  only  true  Hellenic  harmony  (Plato,  Lack.  188  d). 

R 


242  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  ii 

it  made  the  audience  feel  mournful  and  grave.  The 
Syntono-Lydian  was  very  similar.  The  pure  Lydian  is 
rejected  as  effeminate  by  Plato  ;  ^  but  Aristotle,  resting 
on  the  musical  experts,  declares  that  it  involves  order 
and  arrangement  (Koa-fio^)  and  is  well  adapted  for 
education.  About  the  Phrygian  opinion  is  still  more 
divided.  Plato  commends  it.  According  to  him  it 
suitably  represents  the  notes  and  accents  of  a  self- 
controlled  man  "  in  peaceful  and  unconstrained  circum- 
stances, trying  to  persuade  some  one  or  making  a 
request,  praying  to  a  god  or  advising  a  man,  or  giving 
his  attention  to  the  request  or  advice  or  arguments  of 
some  one  else  ;  and  if  he  attains  his  object,  not  puffed 
up,  but  in  all  things  acting,  and  accepting  the  conse- 
quences of  his  actions,  with  moderation  and  self- 
control."  The  philosopher  then  goes  on  to  reject 
the  flute,  as  suitable  only  to  hysterical  enthusiasm. 
But  this,  as  Aristotle  pointed  out,  was  inconsistent. 
For  the  Phrygian  harmony  and  the  flute  went  hand  in 
hand  :  the  wild  orgies  of  Dionusos  and  other  worships 
of  an  enthusiastic  nature  were  usually  accompanied  by 
the  flute  and  could  only  be  set  to  the  Phrygian 
harmony.  The  dithyramb,  for  instance,  could  only  be 
set  in  this  way  ;  when  Philoxenos  definitely  tried  to 
write  one  to  the  Dorian,  he  slid  back  without  being  able 
to  prevent  it  into  the  Phrygian.  Aristotle  therefore, 
accounting  it  an  enthusiastic  harmony,  reserves  it  as  a 
"  purge  **  (/cddap<rt<;),  which,  by  providing  under  well- 
regulated  conditions  an  occasional  outlet  for  hysteria,  will 
work  such  affections  out  of  the  system  for  a  long  period  : 
at  the  end  of  which  another  dose  will  be  required.^ 

^  Plato's  opinion  of  the  harmonies  is  in  Rep.  398-399.  Aristotle,  who  professes 
only  to  summarise  the  views  of  experts,  discusses  them  in  Pol.  viii.  7. 

^  Plato  apparently  accepts  this  principle  with  regard  to  the  Korubantic  dances 
{Laivsj  790  D.) 


CHAP.  IX         ART,  MUSIC,  POETRY  243 

In  Hellas  music  was  held  to  be  an  efficacious  medicine 
for  the  ills  aUke  of  body,  soul,  and  mind.  Even  the 
grave  and  learned  philosopher  Theophrastos,  the  pupil  of 
Aristotle,  asserted  that  the  Phrygian  "  harmony  "  on  the 
flute  was  the  proper  means  of  curing  lumbago.^  Pindar 
states  that  Apollo  "  gives  to  men  and  women  cures  for 
grievous  sickness,  and  invented  the  harp,  and  gives  the 
Muse  to  whom  he  will,  bringing  warless  peace  into  the 
heart "  :  ^  the  god  of  medicine  is  the  son  of  the  god  of 
the  harp.  The  Pythagorean  philosopher  Kleinias,  when 
he  was  in  a  bad  temper,  used  to  take  up  his  harp,  saying, 
"  I  am  calming  myself."  ^  He  and  his  school  regarded 
the  harp  as  the  true  means  of  attaining  that  peace 
and  solemn  orderliness  of  soul  which  as  true  Dorian 
musicians  they  desired.  Lukourgos  produced  at  Sparta 
the  state  of  mind  necessary  to  enable  his  reforms  to 
be  carried,  by  sending  from  Crete  a  lyric  poet  named 
Thales,  whose  songs,  by  their  calm  and  orderly  tune 
and  rhythm,  were  an  incentive  to  discipline  and  con- 
cord :  by  this  means  the  Spartans  were  imperceptibly 
calmed  in  character.^  The  Arcadians,  according  to 
their  compatriot  Polubios,  from  ancient  times  onwards 
"  made  music  their  foster-brother  "  from  their  cradles 
till  they  were  thirty  years  of  age,  in  order  to  counteract 
the  brutalising  tendencies  of  their  rough  life  and  harsh 
climate  ;  and  the  inhabitants  of  one  district,  Kunaitha, 
which  neglected  this  preventive,  were  notorious  for 
their  wickedness.^ 

Thus  music  came  to  be  regarded  as  the  best  means 
of  forming  character.  It  was  only  necessary  to  apply 
the  right  sort  of "  harmony "  to  the  young  and  sus- 
ceptible personality,  and  the  right  "  ethos"  would  be 

1  Athen.  624  b.  2  pjnj^  p_  ^^  60-63.     Cp.  the  story  of  Saul  and  David. 

'  Athen.  624  a.  ■*  Plut.  Luk.  4.  ^  p^i  j^^  ^o.  2. 


244  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  ii 

produced.  The  Dorian  was  most  in  request  for 
educational  purposes :  its  merits  were  universally 
recognised.  For  it  "  suitably  represented  the  notes  and 
accents  of  a  brave  man  in  the  presence  of  war  or  of  any 
other  violent  action,  going  to  meet  wounds  or  death  or 
fallen  into  any  other  misfortune,  facing  his  fate  with 
unflinching  resolution."  ^  Of  the  others,  as  has  been 
said,  Plato  preferred  the  Phrygian  and  Aristotle  the 
Lydian. 

Not  only  beautiful  music,  but  beautiful  art  also,  was 
believed  to  produce,  by  an  unconscious  but  irresistible 
influence,  beautiful  characters  in  those  who  came  into 
contact  with  it ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  bad  art,  as 
well  as  bad  music,  was  the  cause  of  vice  and  low  moral 
ideals.2  This,  they  naturally  thought,  was  particularly 
true  in  the  case  of  children,  who  are  so  sensitive  to  all 
external  influences  ;  moreover,  it  is  the  early  impressions 
that  make  most  difference  in  a  man's  life.  To  serve 
this  educational  end,  the  Hellenes  expected  every  statue 
and  painting,  as  well  as  every  poem  and  tune,  to  have 
)7^o9,  that  is,  according  to  Aristotle's  definition,^  to  be 
such  that  its  moral  purpose  was  manifest  to  the  average 
man.  For  this  purpose  Hellenic  art  had  to  become 
impersonal  :  the  great  statues  represent  a  single  trait 
of  character.  The  smaller  individualising  traits  are 
omitted  :  the  single  trait  chosen  is  then  idealised  and 
carried  to  its  utmost  possible  development.  This 
produced  a  single  and  easily  intelligible  effect.  The 
frieze  on  the  Parthenon  represented  the  perfect  knight 
in  various  attitudes,  not  So-and-so  and  Somebody-else. 

1  Plato,  Rep.  399  a. 

2  Londoners  must  devoutly  hope  that  the  Hellenic  theory  is  false. 

3  Aristot.  Rhet.  ii.  21.  16. 


CHAP.  IX         ART,  MUSIC,  POETRY  245 

The  same  idealised  abstractions  can  be  traced  in  the 
"  Theseus  ''  of  the  Pediment,  and  in  most  of  the  dramas 
of  Sophocles. 

The  realisation  of  this  artistic  ideal  was  made  possible 
by  the  fusion  of  the  two  currents,  Doric  and  Ionic.  At 
the  end  of  the  sixth  century  a  wave  of  Doricism  passes 
over  Athens,  and  the  first  competent  athlete-sculptors 
arise  there.  A  second  wave  came  in  the  middle  of  the 
next  century,  in  the  period  of  Perikles.  The  Dorian 
characteristics  now  dominate  Attic  artis]:s  alike  in  poetry, 
sculpture,  and  vase-painting.  Aeschylus  had  possessed 
the  best  traits  of  the  Ionic  temperament,  chastened  by 
the  great  crisis  of  the  Persian  wars  :  his  imagination  is 
half  oriental,  and  he  has  often  been  compared  to  a 
Hebrew  prophet.  But  the  canons  of  Sophocles  are 
purely  Doric,  as  are  those  of  Pheidias.  The  mixture 
of  Doric  ethics  with  Ionic  imagination  produces  the 
great  age  of  Hellenic  art  and  literature.  With  art  in 
such  an  educative  condition,  the  effect  of  the  great 
public  buildings  and  temples,  which  adorned  even  quite 
humble  villages,  and  of  the  glorious  statues  of  which 
every  temple,  agora,  and  gymnasium  formed  a  perfect 
treasure-house,  must  have  been  very  great  upon  the 
Hellenes,  who  were  probably  the  most  susceptible  of  all 
peoples  to  artistic  influences.  Moderns  vaguely  realise 
that  a  great  Gothic  Cathedral  does  direct  the  emotions 
quite  perceptibly.  The  more  susceptible  Athenians 
must  have  been  much  more  strongly  influenced  by 
the  Parthenon  and  the  Propulaia.  In  fact,  it  is  related 
that  Epaminondas  declared  that  his  countrymen  could 
never  become  great  unless  they  removed  these  buildings 
bodily  to  Thebes.  Strangers  visiting  Athens  were  so 
overcome  by  her  architectural  glories  that  they  thought 
her  the  natural  capital  of  the  world — an  effect  which 


246  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  ii 

Perikles  may  well  have  intended.  Great  works  of  art 
produce  great  effects  :  it  is  not  unnatural  to  suppose 
that  smaller  works  produce  a  not  inconsiderable,  if 
smaller,  eifect.  Modern  theorists  often  declare  that 
the  pictures  and  wall-paper  of  the  nursery  ought  to  be 
in  the  best  taste.  Plato  and  Aristotle  ruled  that 
everything,  however  humble,  which  surrounds  the 
growing  child  should  be  in  accordance  with  the  best 
canons  of  art,  since  art  influenced  morality  so  strongly. 
"  Ought  we  not  to  keep  an  eye,"  says  Plato,^  "  on  the 
craftsmen  also,  and  prevent  them  from  representing 
moral  evil  or  disorderliness  or  bad  taste  or  lack  of  grace 
or  lack  of  harmony  either  in  their  imitations  of  animals 
or  in  their  buildings  or  in  any  other  object  of  their 
craft  ?  If  they  are  unable  to  carry  out  our  directions 
in  this  matter,  ought  we  not  to  expel  them  from  the 
community,  lest  boys  who  are  brought  up  in  the  bad 
pasture  of  these  bad  representations  may  pluck  poison 
daily  from  everything  around  them,  and  little  by  little 
insensibly  accumulate  a  large  amount  of  evil  in  their 
souls  ?  Must  we  not  rather  search  for  such  craftsmen 
as  are  able,  by  their  native  genius,  to  discover  what  is 
beautiful  and  graceful  ?  For  in  this  way  our  children, 
dwelling  in  a  region  of  health,  will  be  influenced  for 
good  by  every  sound  and  every  sight  of  these  works  of 
beauty,  inhaling  as  it  were  a  healthy  breeze  that  blows 
to  them  from  a  goodly  land."  Every  article  of 
furniture,  every  detail,  of  architecture,  is  to  take  its  part 
in  educating  the  citizens.  But  if  art  and  music  are  so 
potent  a  factor  in  education,  they  require  to  be  care- 
fully regulated  :  a  depravation  of  popular  taste,  which 
will  cause  a  depravation  of  the  dependent  artists, 
will  by   its  educating  influence   increase    the    national 

^  Plato,  Rep.  401  B. 


CHAP.  IX         ART,  MUSIC,  POETRY  247 

decadence   both   of  taste  and  of  morals,  in  an   ever- 
widening  degree. 

Poetry  had  at  least  an  equally  potent  influence  upon 
contemporary  ethics.  The  works  of  the  great  poets 
were  the  chief  medium  of  education,  and  large  quantities 
of  them  were  learned  by  heart  in  all  the  elementary 
schools.^  What  the  boys  learned,  they  then  recited, 
with  as  much  dramatic  action  as  they  were  capable  of: 
the  rhapsodes  provided  them  with  models.  Thus  the 
boys  really  acted  the  poets  as  far  as  they  could. 
Acting  was  a  new  thing  in  Hellas  in  Solon's  time,  and 
it  was  received  with  apprehension.  When  Thespis  first 
acted  one  of  his  plays,  Solon  asked  him  if  he  was  not 
ashamed  to  tell  such  lies  in  public,  making  himself  out 
to  be  what  he  was  not.  Thespis  replied  that  it  was 
only  in  fun.  Then  Solon  struck  the  ground  with  his 
stick  and  said,  "  We  shall  soon  find  this  fun  of  yours 
invading  our  commercial  transactions."  Later,  when 
Peisistratos  obtained  the  bodyguard,  to  which  he  owed 
his  tyranny,  by  pretending  to  have  been  wounded  by 
his  enemies,  Solon  said  the  stratagem  was  a  case  of 
acting.^  This  objection  was  echoed  by  Plato,  and  is 
not  wholly  unjustified  by  the  course  of  history.  For 
the  great  vice  of  Hellenic  life  was  its  insincerity  :  it  is 
impossible  to  tell  how  far  a  Hellene  is  in  earnest.  It 
is  this  vice  which  ruins  their  oratory  ;  it  is  this  which, 
in  later  times,  made  the  "  hungry  little  Greek  '*  the  type 
of  a  fawning  liar  in  Roman  opinion.  It  was  not  only 
in   recitations   that  acting  played  a   great  part.     The 

^  A  poetical  education  probably  develops  the  imagination  at  the  expense  of  the 
logical  mind.  Plato  is  a  good  instance  of  this  :  his  imagination,  against  his  will, 
outweighs  his  reason.  It  may  be  this  personal  experience  which  gives  so  much 
bitterness  to  his  attack  on  poetry. 

2  Plut.  Solon,  29.  30. 


248  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  ii 

dances  were  essentially  dramatic  :  it  was  this  quality 
which  enabled  them  to  give  birth  to  the  drama.  In 
the  war-dance  all  the  gestures  and  attitudes  of  attack 
and  defence  in  actual  battle  were  represented.  The 
Dionysiac  dances  were  originally  the  acts  of  devotees 
trying  to  assimilate  themselves  to  the  god  in  his 
suiferings  and  triumphs. 

How  vividly  a  Hellene  entered  into  the  dramatisa- 
tion may  be  seen  from  the  case  of  the  rhapsode  Ion. 
When  he  recited  Homer,  his  eyes  filled  with  water  and 
his  hair  stood  on  end  ;  and  his  audience  were  in  much 
the  same  condition.  The  effect  in  the  "  Mimetic " 
dances,  where'  music,  gestures,  rhythm,  and  poetry  all 
combined  to  produce  a  single  impression,  must  have 
been  greater  still  ;  the  audience,  as  well  as  the  per- 
formers, must  often  have  been  quite  carried  away. 
Such  performances  were  very  frequent.  Is  it  unnatural 
to  suppose  that  such  frequent  assimilation  had  an 
important  effect  on  the  Hellenes,  with  their  artistic 
temperament  and  great  susceptibility  ?  At  any  rate, 
Plato,  Aristotle,  and  Aristophanes,  not  to  mention  lesser 
names,  believed  that  it  had. 

Among  these  potent  poetic  influences,  the  drama 
must  certainly  not  be  forgotten.  Sokrates  regarded  the 
Clouds  of  Aristophanes  as  a  far  more  deadly  attack 
upon  his  career  than  anything  that  Anutos  and  Meletos 
could  say.  To  Plato,  the  theatre  plays  the  part  of  the 
"  Great  Sophist,"  the  educating  influence  which  forms 
the  opinion  and  the  character  of  the  young. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  Hellenic  poetry  en- 
shrined the  religion  of  the  race  :  this  fact  gave  it  an 
enormous  influence.  The  characters  in  Aeschylus  and 
Sophocles  are  divine  or  semi-divine  ;  many  of  the  audi- 
ence in  the  theatre  were  wont  to  revere  Agamemnon 


GHAP.  IX         ART,  MUSIC,  POETRY  249 

or  Theseus  ;  all  paid  worship  to  Athena  and  Apollo. 
The  Athenian  drama  was  sacred  to  a  Hellene  as  is  the 
play  at  Oberammergau  to  a  Christian.  Had  Shake- 
speare dramatised  the  Bible,  modern  children  might  have 
recited  his  speeches  and  acted  his  plays  with  somewhat 
similar  feelings  to  those  with  which  Hellenic  boys 
recited  Homer  or  Aeschylus.  Suppose  Shakespeare  had 
thus  dramatised  the  story  of  Esau  and  Jacob,  and  an 
imaginative  child  was  set  to  learn  Jacob's  speeches  and 
repeat  them  ;  suppose  he  was  also  in  the  habit  of 
hearing  them  recited  by  a  first-class  actor  who  knew 
how  to  bring  out  the  minuter  traits  of  character.^  Is 
it  not,  at  any  rate,  quite  rational  to  argue  that  the 
child  would  gradually  absorb  some  of  these  traits  of 
character,  just  as  children  often  pick  up  the  peculiarities 
of  nurses  and  others  with  whom  they  have  no  hereditary 
connection  ?  Might  not  underhand  habits  be  reason- 
ably attributed  to  frequent  acting  of  the  part  of  Jacob  ? 
Yet  in  ancient  Hellas  the  influence  was  much  stronger, 
for  the  people  were  more  susceptible  and  the  characters 
were  believed  to  be  half-divine. 

Thus  in  ancient  Hellas  music,  art,  and  poetry  had 
an  immense  effect  on  the  characters  and  morals  of  the 
race.  This  influence  may  well  have  been  exaggerated 
by  Hellenic  thinkers.  Damon  the  musician  declared 
that  every  change  in  artistic  standards  produced  a 
change  in  the  tone  and  constitution  of  a  State  ;  and 
Plato  agreed  with  him.^  The  danger  of  such  innova- 
tions is  a  large  part  of  the  theme  of  the  Laws,  and, 
in    a   less   degree,    of  the   Republic.     Sparta   accepted 

1  Children    have   a   natural   tendency   to    act,   and    need  little   inducement  or 
instruction. 

2  Plato,  Rep.  424  c. 


250  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  partii 

this  attitude  and  forbade  all  change.  The  opinion 
was  certainly  widely  held,  and  must  have  rested  on 
experience. 

Just  as  the  thinkers  were  beginning  to  realise  this 
principle,  it  happened  that  a  very  great  change  in  the 
artistic  canons  did  take  place.  Sophocles  is  succeeded 
by  Euripides,  Pheidias  by  Praxiteles  :  music  suffers  a 
similar  transformation.  Idealism  gives  way  'to  realism  : 
Sophocles  and  Pheidias  had  represented  men  as  they 
ought  to  be,  Euripides  and  Praxiteles  represent  them 
as  they  are.  Poets  and  sculptors  still  pretend  to  be 
delineating  deities,  but  in  reality  they  are  delineating 
contemporary  life.^  Their  creations  not  only  cease  to 
be  idealised,  they  cease  to  have  only  a  single  trait. 
The  "  Hermes  "  of  Praxiteles  is  a  dreamy  but  vigorous 
young  Athenian  who  might  have  been  met  in  the 
Akademeiaor  Lukeion  ;  the  **  Herakles''  of  Euripides  is 
now  a  homicidal  maniac,  now  a  reckless  mercenary.^ 
The  characters  become  human  by  losing  their  divine- 
ness.  In  the  next  generation  the  divine  names 
are  '^dropped,  and  Menander  can  depict  contemporary 
life  without  using  legendary  names.  Music  also  ceased 
to  be  so  severely  separated  off  into  types.  All  manner 
of  musical  innovations  arise,  which  it  is  very  hard 
for  a  modern  to  grasp.  But  the  result  is  clear 
enough.  It  became  no  longer  possible  to  detect  the 
ethical  meaning  of  a  tune  :  music  was  becoming  com- 
plex, just  as  characters  in  drama  and  sculpture  were 
becoming  complex.  It  was  also  more  homely  in  subject. 
It  became  daringly  "  mimetic  "  also,  imitating  all  the 
sounds  of  nature.  This  was  an  age  of  daring  experi- 
ments, and  musicians  shared  the  general  movement. 

^  So  in  the  later  Renaissance  the  "  Madonna  "  is  the  artist's  wife. 
*  According  to  Dr.  Verrall. 


CHAP.  IX         ART,  MUSIC,  POETRY  251 

To  the  Conservative  party  in  Hellas  and  to  the 
educational  theorists  these  changes  naturally  appeared 
ruinous.  In  their  opinion,  Euripides  was  practically 
parodying  the  Bible  and  making  divine  characters  share 
all  the  follies  and  weaknesses,  and  use  the  homely 
language,  of  mere  men.  Boys,  learning  such  poetry  by 
heart,  would  cease  to  have  ideals  :  everything  would  be 
commonplace  to  them.  They  would  recite  the  most 
homely  language,  and  act  the  most  homely  parts,  under 
the  idea  that  they  were  half-divine.  Moreover,  with 
the  attack  of  the  new  school  upon  the  old  religion,  the 
more  immoral  parts  of  Hellenic  mythology  were  brought 
into  undue  prominence.  Euripides  seems  to  have 
chosen  some  questionable  subjects ;  the  dithyrambic 
poets  were  worse,  and  chose  themes  quite  unsuitable  for 
children  to  act  or  hear.  And  music  ceased  to  have  any 
ethical  value  ;  it  was  all  trills  and  onomatopoeia.  Such 
changes  meant  a  revolution  in  the  results  of  education. 

The  poet  Aristophanes  is  the  first  to  raise  his  voice 
against  the  change.  A  few  months  before  the  utter 
ruin  of  Athens,  he  produces  the  Frogs^  which  really 
repeats  the  attack  of  the  Clouds^  with  Euripides 
instead  of  Sokrates  for  the  defendant.  The  poet  is 
attacked  as  at  once  the  prophet  of  the  new  culture  of 
the  Sophists  and  of  the  new  artistic  standards.  The 
following  are  some  of  the  chief  faults  which  Aristophanes 
finds  with  the  new  school  represented  by  Euripides  :  ^ 
( I )  an  undignified  style  of  music,  worthy  only  of  the 
bones  as  an  accompaniment ;  (2)  its  habit  of  mixing  all 
sorts  of  incongruous  musical  rubbish  together,  **  lewd 
love-songs,  drinking  catches  of  Meletos,  Karian  flute- 
music,  dirges,  and  dances  "  ;  (3)  its  trills  or  shakes,  as 
in   €t€t6A€t€t\tW€T€ ;    (4)    its   mixture   of   incongruous 

*  Aristoph.  Trogi,  1301,  1340. 


252  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  partii 

pictures,  "  dolphins,  spiders,  halcyons,  prophet-chambers, 
and  race-courses,"  pathos  and  bathos,  commonplace  and 
solemnity  ;  (5)  bad  metre,  licenses  of  every  sort,  and 
frequent  "  resolved  "  feet.  As  a  parody  of  its  habitual 
incongruity  Aristophanes  gives  : 

"  O  God  of  the  sea,  that's  what  it  is.  O  ye  neigh- 
bours, behold  yon  monstrous  deed  :  Gluke's  gone  off 
with  my  cock.  Nymphs,  ye  daughters  of  the  hills  ! 
Mary  Ann,  lend  a  hand." 

Aristophanes'  voice  comes  with  a  certain  pathos,  for 
the  play  is  the  last  utterance  of  Periclean  Athens, 
just  at  the  point  of  falling  and  trying  to  find  a  scape- 
goat on  whom  to  lay  the  responsibility  of  its  ruin  : 
and  the  scapegoat  chosen  is  the  new  artistic  and  musical 
standard.  The  Ionic  temperament  had,  in  fact, 
broken  away  from  all  restraint.  The  Doric  canons  of 
order,  symmetry,  regularity,  and  solidity  were  thrown 
aside.  Everything  antique  was  treated  with  disdain  ; 
all  authority  was  rejected  with  scorn.  No  standards, 
ethical  or  artistic,  were  tolerated.  Perpetual  change, 
dally  novelty,  became  the  one  desire  of  Athens.  The 
foundations  of  belief,  the  bases  of  the  moral  code,  were 
broken  down.  The  whole  world  seemed  to  be 
crumbling  away,  and  nothing  was  arising  to  take  its 
place.  Spectators  became  dizzy  with  the  eternal 
fluctuations.  What  wonder  if  they  turned  longing  eyes 
towards  the  one  centre  of  gravity  in  Hellas,  towards 
the  one  place  where  politics,  art,  and  ethics  retained 
their  old  stability,  towards  Sparta  ?  So  Sparta  becomes 
the  philosopher's  ideal,  and  it  is  the  Spartan  canon  that 
Plato  tries  to  reimpose  on  lonicism  running  riot.-^  The 
fault  which  he  finds  with  contemporary  art  and  music 

^  lonicism  =  Herakleiteanism,  irdvTa  pel.     Doricism  =  Parmenideanism,  t6  Trav 
fiivei. 


CHAP.  IX         ART,  MUSIC,  POETRY  253 

is  that  they  simply  try  to  please  and  amuse  the  audience, 
not  to  educate  and  improve  it.^  They  are  like  parents 
who  try  to  soothe  a  fractious  child  with  sweetmeats 
when  his  health  requires  castor  oil.  But  the  poets  and 
artists  are  the  slaves  of  the  mob  which  pays  them. 
They  must  be  freed  from  this  control,  and  made  the 
servants  of  the  government.  Strict  canons  must  be 
drawn  up,  which  they  must  follow  on  pain  of  being 
expelled  from  the  State.  The  canons  must  be  drawn 
up  by  a  select  body  of  experts  ;  the  mob  is  incapable  of 
judging  in  such  matters  ;  the  critic  must  guide  their 
taste,  not  follow  it.^  Good  music  and  art  must 
bear  the  stamp  of  a  good  "  ethos,"  and,  since  men 
appreciate  the  character  most  which  most  resembles 
their  own,  it  will  be  the  good  man  who  will  most 
appreciate  good  music  :  ^  so  the  good  man  becomes  the 
standard.  In  order  to  point  his  moral,  Plato  sketches 
the  history  of  the  Athenian  drama,  showing  how  its 
dependence  on  popular  opinion  ruined  it  *  : — 

"  At  the  time  of  the  Persian  wars  Athens  was  a 
limited  democracy,  with  the  magistracies  arranged 
according  to  a  property  qualification.  The  spirit  of 
obedience  and  discipline  prevailed  in  those  days,  and  was 
strengthened  by  the  dread  of  Persia.  The  populace 
willingly  obeyed  the  laws  that  fixed  the  artistic  and 
musical  standards.  By  these  regulations  the  different 
types  of  song  and  accompaniment,  hymns  or  prayers  to 
the  gods,  lamentations,  paeans,  dithyrambs,  and  so  forth 
were  kept  quite  distinct,  no  one  being  allowed  to  mix 
them  together  ;  the  standard,  too,  was  not  fixed,  as  now, 
by  the  shouts  and  stampings  and  confused  applause  of 
the  mob,  but  every  one  listened  in  silence  until  the  end 

1  Plato,  Gorg.  50I-50Z  j  Polit.  288  c.  ^  piato,  jLawi,  657-659. 

3  Ibid.  656.  *  Ibid.  698-701  c. 


254  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  ii 

of  the  play,  the  educated  classes  from  preference,  and 
boys  and  their  paidagogoi,  and  the  mob  generally, 
under  the  direction  of  the  rod.  Thus  the  mass  of  the 
citizens  were  ready  to  obey  in  an  orderly  manner,  not 
venturing  to  make  noisy  criticisms.  In  course  of  time 
some  poets,  who  ought  to  have  known  better,  led  the 
way  in  breaking  down  these  laws.  Frenzied  and  dis- 
tracted by  their  desire  for  pleasure,  they  mixed  lamenta- 
tions with  hymns  and  pasans  with  dithyrambs,  they 
imitated  the  flute  on  the  lyre,  they  confused  everything 
with  everything  else.  Blinded  by  ignorance,  they  lied 
and  said  that  there  was  no  question  of  accuracy  of  repre- 
sentation in  music  :  the  only  standard  was  the  pleasure 
of  the  hearer,  whatever  sort  of  man  he  might  be.  With 
such  style  of  poetry,  and  arguments  to  match,  they 
inspired  the  many  with  contempt  for  the  laws  of  Art, 
and  gave  them  the  idea  that  they  were  capable  of 
criticising  it.  So  the  audience  was  no  longer  silent  but 
noisy,  since  it  supposed  that  it  knew  what  was  good  and 
what  was  bad.  Art  was  no  longer  governed  by  good 
taste,  but  by  the  bad  taste  of  the  mob.  Nor  was  this 
the  worst  of  it.  From  Art  the  infection  spread  to  other 
spheres,  and  every  one  began  to  think  that  he  knew 
everything,  and  consequently  to  break  the  laws.  For, 
thinking  themselves  wiser  than  the  laws,  they  no  longer 
feared  them.  .  .  .  Next  comes  a  refusal  to  obey  the 
Archons,  then  contempt  for  the  orders  of  parents  and 
elders,  then  a  desire  to  be  free  from  the  restraints  of  a 
constitution.  The  end  is  utter  contempt  for  oaths  and 
covenants  and  the  gods." 

It  is  the  lack  of  order  and  system  in  contemporary 
music   which    Plato  dislikes.^     In    modern   dances,  he 

^  The  essence  of  dancing  is  that  it  is  orderly  movement  ;  of  singing  that  it  is 
orderly  sound  {Lawf,  654). 


CHAP.  IX         ART,  MUSIC,  POETRY  255 

complains,  manly  words  are  set  to  effeminate  tunes  or 
gestures,  and  the  voices  of  men  and  beasts  and  instru- 
ments are  mixed  together  into  a  confused  and  unin- 
telligible hodgepodge.^  Music  without  words  is  equally- 
detestable.  Music  that  runs  on  without  the  proper 
pauses  and  loves  mere  speed  and  meaningless  clamour, 
using  flutes  and  harps  without  words,  is  in  the  worst 
taste.     The  meaning  must  be  quite  plain. 

Music  must  also  be  good.  Poets  say  much  that  is 
good,  much  that  is  bad  :  they  are  irresponsible  beings.^ 
The  State  ought  to  appoint  censors  who  will  reject  all 
unsuitable  poems  and  tunes  and  dances.  Those  which 
are  already  in  existence  must  be  selected  and  expurgated. 
If  this  ruins  the  poetry,  never  mind  :  moral  tone  is  far 
more  important  than  poetical  skill.  In  fact,  poetry 
ought  to  be  written  by  moral  citizens  without  any 
regard  being  paid  to  their  poetical  talents  :  it  would 
also  be  well  if  they  did  not  compose  till  they  were  fifty  !  ^ 
A  sketch  of  a  Platonic  Censor  re- editing  Homer  is 
given  in  Books  ii.  and  iii.  of  the  Republic  :  his  methods 
are  drastic. 

But  Plato's  chief  denunciation  is  reserved  for  the 
"  mimetic  "  or  imitative  aspect  of  poetry.  The  poet 
teaches  "  posing."  Homer,  when  he  described  the  siege 
of  Troy,  is  posing  as  a  skilled  tactician  (as  his  admirers 
often  claimed  that  he  was),  when  really  the  silence  of 
history  proves  that  he  was  nothing  of  the  sort.  So  too 
the  painter  who  represents  a  plough  is  posing  as  an 
authority  upon  agriculture  :  question  him,  and  he  will 
prove  to  be  completely  ignorant  of  the  subject.  Both 
poetry  and  painting  are  a  fraud  and  a  deception  ;  by 
their  pretence  of  knowledge,  they  encourage  the  mind 
in  the  habit,  to  which  it  is  so  prone,  of  accepting  vague 

1  Plato,  Laiui,  669-70.  2  m^^  800-802.  »  Ihid.  829  c. 


256  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  ii 

opinions  as  certainties  without  testing  their  truth.^ 
They  foster  that  belief  in  the  sense-perceptions  which 
it  is  the  object  of  Platonic  education  to  destroy. 

But  the  poet  not  only  poses  himself :  he  makes  his 
audience,  his  reader,  his  performer  pose.  The  boy 
who  recites  the  dying  speech  of  Aias  in  Sophocles*  play 
is  posing  as  Aias,  pretending  to  be  Aias,  and  adopting 
the  tone  and' the  traits  of  Aias.  The  boy  who  dances 
in  the  dithyramb  SemeU  is  trying  to  enter  into 
Semel6's  feelings  and  moods,  being  helped  by  the  music 
and  the  gestures  and  the  words.^  Such  posing,  if 
begun  in  early  years,  will  invade  the  character  and 
change  it :  the  boy  will  become  like  the  personages 
whom  he  is  accustomed  to  act.  Hence  Plato  lays 
down  strict  laws  dealing  with  the  recitations  arid  dances 
of  the  young.^  "  If  they  speak  in  character,  it  must 
only  be  in  the  character  of  those  who  are,  what  they 
themselves  must  be  when  they  are  grown  up,  brave, 
temperate,  pious^gentlemen.  They  must  have  no  skill 
in  taking  unsuitable  characters,  lest  from  their  dramatic 
representation  of  what  is  vulgar  and  base  they  become 
infected  with  the  reality  of  vulgarity  and  baseness.  For 
imitation,  if  begun  in  early  years  and  carried  far,  sinks 
into  a  boy's  habits  and  nature,  and  influences  his  voice, 
his  gestures,  and  his  ideas.  ...  So  boys  must  not  be 
allowed  to  take  the  character  of  a  woman,  young  or 
old,  abusing  her  husband  or  blaspheming  against  the 
gods  or  uttering  lamentations, — certainly  not  of  a 
woman  in  sickness  or  in  love  or  in   pangs  ;  nor    the 

^  Consequently  the  painter  and  the  poet  are,  in  Plato's  opinion,  allies  of  the 
Sophist. 

2  This  is  true,  in  a  less  degree,  of  the  audience.  Cp.  Plutarch's  account  of  the 
Spartans  {Lac.  Inst.  239  a)  :  "They  did  not  listen  to  tragedies  or  comedies,  in  order 
that  neither  in  earnest  nor  in  jest  they  might  hear  men  gainsaying  the  laws." 

3  Plato,  Rep.  395  ff. 


CHAP.  IX         ART,  MUSIC,  POETRY  257 

character  of  slaves  performing  slavish  duties  ;  nor  of 
bad  men,  cowards,  insulting  or  mocking  one  another, 
using  foul  language,  drunk  or  sober  ;  nor  yet  of  mad- 
men/' ^  It  will  be  seen  that  this  will  exclude  much  of 
Hellenic  drama,  especially  of  the  plays  of  Euripides 
and  Aristophanes.  Comedy,  according  to  Plato,  should 
only  be  acted  by  foreigners,  and  should  serve  as  an 
awful  warning  of  everything  that  a  gentleman  ought 
not  to  do.  The  new  music  is  subjected  to  similar 
rules.  "  Boys  must  not  imitate  blacksmiths  at  the 
forge,  or  craftsmen  occupied  in  any  trade,  or  sailors 
rowing,  or  boatswains  giving  them  orders,  or  anything 
of  the  sort ;  nor  yet  horses  neighing,  or  bulls  roaring, 
or  the  noise  of  rivers  or  the  sea  or  thunder  or  wind  or 
hail  or  chariot-wheels  or  pulleys  or  trumpets  or  flutes 
or  pipes.  .  .  .  ;  nor  the  sounds  made  by  dogs  and 
sheep  and  birds."  So  the  proper  style  of  poetry  for 
educational  purposes  will  be  mostly  narrative,  with 
occasional  dramatisation  of  virtuous  men.  To  accom- 
pany this  simplified  and  purified  poetry  only  the  Dorian 
and  Phrygian  "  harmonies "  will  be  required  :  all  the 
others  may  be  rejected.  Simple  instruments  alone  will 
be  wanted  :  many-stringed  lyres  and  the  flute  can  be 
banished.  The  seven-stringed  lyre  and  the  shepherd's 
pipe  will  be  left. 

Plato  finds  it  too  difficult  to  carry  these  principles 
into  rhythm,  since  he  is  not  an  expert  in  the  subject. 
But  he  thinks  that  the  metres  could  be  regulated  in 
accordance  with  his  canons  ;  the  expert  Damon  declared 
that  some  had  a  demoralising  tendency. 

As  a  whole,  Plato's  aim  is  to  restore  Doric  standards, 
to    combat    amateurism  and   dabbling,  by  which  boys 

^  Plato  holds  that  no  one  likes  to  imitate  his  inferiors  }  so  the  good  man  will  not 
care  to  imitate  any  but  the  good.     He  ascribes  this  attitude  to  the  Deity. 

S 


258  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  partii 

were  made  Jacks-of-all-trades,  and  above  all  to  insist 
that  the  refined  few  ought  to  set  the  standard  of  taste  in 
matters  musical,  literary,  and  artistic,  not  the  unrefined 
many.  With  his  view  may  be  contrasted  Perikles' 
boast  to  the  Athenian  people,  "We  can  all  criticise 
adequately,  if  we  cannot  all  invent,"  and  Aristotle's 
belief  that  a  crowd  judges  better  than  an  individual 
because  its  judgment  is  compounded  of  many  judgments. 
But  when  we  come  to  Aristotle  the  creative  instinct 
of  the  Hellenic  nation,  apart  from  a  few  gifted 
individuals,  is  dead.  To  him  and  his  contemporaries 
music  and  painting  are  no  longer  rendered  necessary 
parts  of  education  owing  to  the  irresistible  craving 
of  an  artistic  temperament  for  expression.  Listen 
to  his  theory.  Painting  gives  boys  an  eye  for 
beauty,  and  prevents  them  from  being  cheated  in 
art-dealing  :  there  is  no  inward  compulsion  to  paint. 
Boys  had  better  learn  to  sing  and  play,  since  children 
must  needs  make  a  noise.  All  they  really  need  is  the 
power  of  criticising  professional  music.  This  power, 
unluckily,  cannot  be  acquired  without  personal  study. 
But  let  them  drop  their  music  as  soon  as  they  can, 
or  they  might  be  mistaken  for  .vulgar  professionals. 
Such  words  could  hardly  have  been  addressed  to  a 
nation  that  was  still  musical  and  artistic.  So  Aristotle's 
aesthetic  criticism  is  really  a  study  of  the  past,  the 
discussion  of  a  dead  age.  He  has  no  natural  affinity 
for  such  things  himself:  he  prefers  to  sum  up  the 
opinions  of  experts.  Consequently  his  remarks  on  the 
subject  are  scientific  but  no  ,more  ;  for  a  real  apprecia- 
tion of  the  Hellenic  artistic  and  musical  spirit  it  is 
necessary  to  go  to  Plato,  who  combated  it  so  fiercely 
just  because  he  was  more  in  sympathy  with  it  than 
suited  his  philosophic  desires. 


CHAPTER   X 

XENOPHON  :     *' THE    EDUCATION    OF    KUROS  " 

The  central  figure  in  many  parishes  in  England  is  a 
retired  Major-General  or  Colonel.  He  constitutes  the 
chief  pillar  of  the  neighbouring  church,  reads  the 
Lessons  on  Sundays,  teaches  in  the  Sunday  School, 
gives  away  the  prizes  at  School-treats  held  in  his  own 
grounds,  and  heads  every  subscription  list ;  while  his 
leisure  is  given  to  the  compilation  of  a  military  memoir 
or  two,  and  perhaps,  if  he  is  very  literary,  of  a  few 
short  stories.  Just  such  a  man  was  Xenophon.  On 
retiring  from  active  service,  he  withdrew  to  the  little 
village  of  Skillous  in  Elis,  where  he  owned  a  house  and 
a  park.  The  whole  country  swarmed  with  fish  and 
game,  so  that  he  and  his  sons  could  have  as  much 
hunting  as  they  pleased.  Guests  were  numerous,  for 
past  his  gates  ran  the  great  high-road  from  Lakedaimon 
to  Olympia.  In  his  grounds  he  built  a  chapel  to 
Artemis,  the  expenses  being  defrayed  from  a  tithe  of 
the  spoils  he  had  taken  in  the  heart  of  the  Persian 
Empire.  The  tenth  of  the  produce  of  his  land  was 
paid  to  the  goddess,  and  once  a  year  he  gave  a  great 
sacrificial  feast  in  her  honour,  to  which  all  the  neigh- 
bours were  invited.  In  this  way  the  retired  General 
lived  for  twenty  years,  devoted  to  his  religion,  his 
hunting,  and  the  composition  of  his  books.     Having 

259 


26o  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  ii 

two  sons  of  his  own,  he  naturally  gave  some  attention 
to  the  problems  of  education.  His  treatise  on  the 
constitution  of  Lakedaimon  is  simply  a  sketch  of  the 
Spartan  school  system,  no  doubt  intended  for  his  boys, 
who  were  brought  up  at  Sparta.  A  curious  passage  in 
his  Economics^  shows  that  he  considered  the  most 
effective  mode  of  teaching  to  be  a  series  of  appeals,  by 
means  of  question  and  answer,  to  personal  observation 
and  common-sense.  Ischomachos  asks  Sokrates  whether 
he  knows  how  to  plant  trees.  Sokrates  at  first  replies 
"No,"  but  when  he  is  questioned  point  by  point, 
whether  on  his  excursions  to  Lukabettos,  he  has  noticed 
the  depth  of  the  trenches  in  the  orchards,  and  some 
similar  details,  and  when  his  common-sense  has  shown 
him  that  plants  grow  quicker  through  soft  than 
through  hard  soil,  he  finds  that  he  is  an  expert  nursery- 
man, and  decides  that  questioning  must  be  the  way  to 
teach. 

But  the  most  important  of  Xenophon's  educational 
works  is  the  Education  of  Kuros.  In  this  he  becomes 
the  classical  Miss  Edgeworth  and  Henty  combined.  The 
book  is  really  an  historical  novel,  mostly  fiction,  embody- 
ing a  moral  story  for  the  young,  an  ideal  system  of 
education,  and  a  practical  treatise  on  the  whole  duty  of 
a  general.  The  ideal  system  comes  first,  as  a  sort  of 
preface,  and  presents  a  curious  parallel  to  the  rival 
schemes  of  his  contemporary  Plato.  Xenophon  makes 
the  reader  suppose  that  his  system  was  practised  in 
Persia  in  the  time  of  Kuros*  boyhood,  but  there  is  no 
authority  for  his  statement.  Persia  is  in  this  case  a 
convenient  title  for  Utopia. 

The  ordinary  State,  according  to  Xenophon,  leaves 
its   citizens    to    form    their   own  characters ;    but  the 

^  Xen.  Econ.  19. 


cHAP.x  XENOPHON  261 

Persian  system  definitely  aims  at  producing  virtue.  In 
every  Persian  city  there  is  what  is  called  the  "  Free 
Agora.'*  ^  This  is  an  open  square,  like  the  ordinary 
market-place,  but  unlike  it  in  being  without  shops  or 
booths,  for  the  vulgar  bustle  and  clamour  of  buying  and 
selling  is  forbidden  here,  as  likely  to  disturb  the  peace 
and  calm  of  the  educated.  Round  it  lie  the  royal  palace 
and  the  State  buildings,  so  that  it  would  be  a  place  of 
some  architectural  pretensions  and  not  unlike  the  quad- 
rangle of  a  College  at  an  English  University.  The 
square  is  divided  into  four  parts — one  for  the  children, 
one  for  the  epheboi,  one  for  full-grown  men,  and  one 
for  the  old  ;  for  men  of  all  ages  have  their  place  in 
this  College.  Any  Persian  is  at  liberty  to  send  his  son 
to  school  here,  but  only  the  rich  can  afford  to  support 
their  sons  while  they  attend  the  classes  :  the  poor  man's 
children,  in  Utopian  Persia  as  in  modern  England,  must 
needs  work  for  their  living  at  an  early  age.  The  schools 
are  apparently  only  for  boys  :  Xenophon  has  nothing  to 
say  here  about  feminine  education,  although  he  approves 
of  the  Spartan  system. 

All  boys  under  sixteen  are  ranged  together  in  twelve 
companies,  according  to  the  number  of  Persian  tribes  ; 
of  arrangement  in  classes  by  age  or  intelligence  nothing 
is  said.  They  have  to  be  in  their  quarter  of  the  Free 
Agora  at  daybreak.  Their  education  is  under  the  control 
of  twelve  masters  chosen  from  the  elder  men.  What 
they  learn  in  school  is  Justice^  as  boys  elsewhere  learn 
letters.  The  system  is  as  curious  as  the  subject.  A  sort 
of  miniature  law-court  is  constituted,  where  the  masters 
act  as  judges  and  the  boys  accuse  one  another  before 
them.     The  accusations  must  not  be  concocted  for  the 

^  Aristotle  {Pol.  vii.  12)  says  that  "Free  Agoras  "  were  customary  in  Thessaly. 
He  adopts  the  system  for  his  ideal  state — a  clear  compliment  to  Xenophon. 


262  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  ii 

occasion,  for  any  one  found  guilty  of  bringing  a  false 
charge  against  a  schoolfellow  is  severely  punished. 
Smith  Major  has  stolen  Brown's  bow  and  arrows,  or 
Jones  has  called  Robinson  various  opprobrious  names  ; 
the  offenders  are  hauled  up  before  the  tribunal,  duly 
tried,  and,  if  convicted,  flogged.^  Ingratitude  is  re- 
garded as  a  particularly  heinous  crime.  It  appears  that 
promising  pupils  were  allowed  to  act  as  judges  some- 
times. The  boy  Kuros  tells  his  mother  how  he  re- 
ceived this  honour  and  once  gave  a  wrong  verdict,  to 
his  own  discomfiture.  "The  case  was  like  this, 
mother,"  he  is  made  to  say.  "  A  big  boy  wearing  a 
small  coat  met  a  small  boy  wearing  a  big  coat,  and 
compelled  him  to  exchange.  I  was  told  to  decide  the 
case,  and  said  that  it  was  best  that  each  should  have  the 
coat  which  fitted  him.  Then  the  master  flogged  me. 
For  the  point  was.  To  whom  did  the  big  coat  belong  ? 
not,  Whom  did  it  fit  best  ?  It  belonged  to  the  boy  who 
bought  or  made  it,  not  to  the  boy  who  took  it  by  force, 
breaking  the  law." 

Besides  "Justice,"  the  children  were  taught  the 
properties  of  plants,  in  order  that  they  might  avoid  those 
that  were  harmful  and  use  those  which  were  good.^ 
This  seems  a  curious  anticipation  of  "  Nature-study," 
with  a  strictly  utilitarian  object,  and  Xenophon  deserves 
credit  for  an  original  suggestion. 

The  boys  are  assisted  in  the  formation  of  good  habits 
by  the  sight  of  their  elders  in  the  adjacent  quarter  of  the 
Free  Agora,  setting  them  an  example  in  temperance  and 
obedience  and  self-restraint.  They  also  learn  not  to  be 
greedy,  by  taking  their  meals,  when  ordered,  in  the 
school,  under  supervision,  off  the  very  simple  fare  of 

^  Floggings  were  apparently  to  be  frequent.     "  Tears  are  a  master's  instruments 
of  instruction  "  (ii.  2.  14). 


cHAP.x  XENOPHON  263 

bread,  water,  and  a  sort  of  seed  resembling  the  modern 
mustard,  which  is  all  that  they  are  allowed  to  bring  with 
them  from  home  for  the  purpose.  What  is  more,  this 
probably  constituted  the  only  meal  which  the  children 
had  on  such  days.  It  must  have  been  a  pretty  stiff 
lesson  in  abstinence  !  How  they  would  have  hated  a 
master  who  ordered  it  too  often  !  For  games  and 
exercise  they  had  shooting  with  the  bow  and  hurling 
the  javelin — that  is,  military  training. 

The  other  three  ages  are  also  organised  each  under 
twelve  masters  in  its  own  quarter  of  the  Agora  of  Edu- 
cation. The  epheboi,  who  in  Utopia  include  all  from 
sixteen  to  twenty-six,  even  sleep  there,  acting  as  a  stand- 
ing army  and  a  police  force  to  guard  the  palace  and  the 
State  buildings.  Xenophon  thinks  it  well  that  the  men 
of  this  age,  who  need  more  attention,  in  his  opinion,  than 
even  the  boys,  should  be  always  under  the  eye  of  the 
authorities.  They  are  organised  into  twelve  companies, 
one  from  each  of  the  Persian  tribes.  Their  time  is 
largely  occupied  in  police-work,  such  as  catching  brigands, 
and  in  hunting.  Xenophon  attaches  great  import- 
ance to  hunting  of  all  sorts,  as  being  the  best  training 
for  war.^  For  it  involves  exposure  to  heat  and  cold  and 
other  hardships,  training  in  marching  and  running,  and 
skill  with  bow  and  javelin ;  ^  it  also  requires  courage,  to 
meet  the  sudden  charge  of  a  panther  ;  and  long  and 
patient  strategy,  to  catch  birds  and  hares.^  So,  several 
times  a  month,  the  king  goes  out  hunting  and  takes  six 
companies  of  the  epheboi  with  him,  armed  with  bows  and 
arrows,  a  dagger,  a  light  shield,  and  two  spears — one  .for 
throwing  and  one  for  stabbing.  When  not  engaged  in 
hunting  or  in  police-work,  the  epheboi  revise  what  they 
learned  as  boys,  and  practise  shooting,  competing  with 

^  Hence  his  treatise  on  hunting.  '  i.  2.  10.  ^  i.  6.  39-40. 


264  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  11 

one  another  ;  there  are  also  public  contests,  with  prizes. 
Prizes  are  also  given  to  the  officer  in  charge  of  the 
company  which  shows  itself  the  most  intelligent, 
courageous,  and  trustworthy  ;  the  master  who  taught 
this  company  in  its  school-days  is  also  commended. 

The  men  from  twenty-six  to  fifty  occupy  the  third, 
and  the  elders  the  fourth,  quarter  of  the  Agora.  The 
former  act  as  a  standing  army  of  heavy  infantry  ;  the 
latter  as  a  reserve  force  for  home  defence,  as  Judges,  as 
the  electors  to  the  offices  of  State,  and  as  the  teachers 
of  the  children.  The  other  offices  are  filled  by  the 
third  age.  Any  freeborn  Persian  can  climb  this  four- 
runged  Ladder  of  Education  to  the  very  top  ;  but  no 
one  may  enter  a  higher  class  without  having  served  his 
full  time  in  those  below  it.  To  Xenophon,  it  appears, 
belongs  the  credit  of  being  the  first  theorist  to  recognise 
the  merits  of  this  Thessalian  custom  of  the  "  Free 
Agora,"  the  State-provided  centre  of  culture,  after- 
wards adopted  so  extensively  in  Alexandria,  where  the 
educated  classes  of  all  ages  might  meet  in  an  intellectual 
atmosphere  and  amid  beautiful  surroundings,  and 
provide  that  exchange  and  mart  of  ideas  by  personal 
intercourse  which  Newman  considered  to  be  the  essence 
of  a  University.  In  the  Free  Agora  of  Utopian  Persia 
all  the  educated  spend  their  days,  influencing  one 
another  by  talk  and  example,  exchanging  and  criti- 
cising ideas,  competing  in  warlike  exercises — and  all 
in  an  atmosphere  untainted  by  the  vulgarity  of  money- 
making.  On  the  other  hand,  culture  there  does  not  mean 
idleness  ;  to  Xenophon,  as  to  Plato,  education  seemed 
to  entail  great  responsibilities,  and  the  educated  classes 
provide  the  sole  standing  army  of  the  State  and  have  to 
give  their  countrymen  the  benefit  of  their  intelligence 
by  serving  as  Rulers  and  Judges. 


CHAP.  X  XENOPHON  265 

But  Xenophon's  University  provides  only  legal  and 
military  instruction  ;  intellectual  culture  is  not  recog- 
nised in  his  *'  Persia."  The  boys  learn  the  principles 
of  their  national  law  ;  for,  as  Xenophon  is  careful  to 
proclaim,  the  Justice  which  they  are  taught  is  no 
Platonic  elaboration,  but  simple  conformity  to  the  law 
of  the  land.-^  Their  other  lessons  aim  solely  at  the 
soldier's  life  •  this  is  the  object  of  their  severe  diet, 
their  botany,  and  their  training  in  arms.  General 
morality  is  to  be  imbibed  from  contact  in  the  Agora  with 
their  exemplary  seniors,  not  by  ethical  contemplation. 
The  system  has  the  merit  of  being  extremely  practical, 
as  would  be  expected  from  a  man  of  Xenophon's 
stamp.  The  boys  are  to  be  soldiers  all  their  lives,  and 
Rulers  and  Judges  in  their  old  age.  Consequently  they 
are  to  be  taught  only  what  is  essential  to  this  calling. 
The  soldier  must  be  well  versed  in  the  use  of  arms  and 
capable  of  enduring  hardships  ;  so  the  boys  are  taught 
to  use  the  bow  and  javelin  and  lead  a  sternly  simple 
life.  The  chief  essential  to  the  Ruler  and  Judge  is  a 
sound  knowledge  of  the  national  law  :  the  boys  are 
taught  law  from  the  first,  in  a  highly  practical  way,  and 
even  learn  to  administer  it,  acting  as  judges  to  their 
schoolfellows.  No  better  means  could  be  devised  for 
teaching  boys  the  legal  procedure  of  their  native  land 
than  this  of  constituting  them  into  a  miniature  Court.^ 
It  is  a  scheme,  however,  which  would  be  repugnant  to 
the  whole  idea  of  an  English  public  school,  where  the 
boys  are  expected  to  fight  their  own  battles  and  set 
their  own  tone  without  calling  in  the  master's  assistance 
except  in  grave  cases.     But  the  Hellenic  boy  was  never 

1  i.  3. 17. 

2  Cp.  the  experiment  which  was,  I  believe,  tried  in  an  American  school,  where 
the  boys  learned  the  national  constitution  by  themselves  electing  in  due  form  a 
President,  Congress,  etc. 


266  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  ii 

left  without  supervision  :  the  paidagogos,  or  some  elder, 
was  always  in  attendance.^  Probably  the  chief  criticism 
which  it  would  have  occurred  to  an  Athenian  of  that 
age  to  urge  against  Xenophon's  system  would  be,  not 
that  it  encouraged  tale-bearing,  nor  that  it  failed  to 
teach  self-reliance,  but  that  his  countrymen  were  quite 
sufficiently  litigious  already  without  any  teaching. 
The  absence  of  literature  and  music  would  also  have 
seemed  a  fatal  objection. 

The  ''  Persian  "  schools  are  apparently  open,  free  of 
charge,  to  any  boy  whose  father  chooses  to  send  him. 
For  the  only  expense  which  the  parents  are  mentioned 
as  incurring  is  the  loss  of  any  wages  which  their  son 
might  have  been  earning  if  set  to  a  trade  instead  of  being 
sent  to  school.  Xenophon  thus  institutes  free  education 
without  compulsion.  Pupils  may  be  withdrawn  at  any 
age ;  if  they  or  their  families  have  enough  private 
means  to  enable  them  to  live  in  leisure  all  their  lives 
they  can  rise  through  the  various  stages  to  the  highest 
offices  of  the  State,  provided  that  they  are  not  rejected 
as  unfit  during  their  upward  passage.  Theoretically  the 
educational  ladder  is  open  to  all ;  practically  it  is  closed 
to  all  but  those  who  are  well-to-do  and  fairly  capable 
to  boot.  But  the  education  provided  is  not  a  general 
culture,  intellectually  and  morally  good  for  all  children, 
nor  yet  utilitarian  knowledge,  such  as  arithmetic  or 
writing,  which  will  serve  as  a  useful,  or  even  neces- 
sary, basis  for  a  trade  or  profession  :  it  is  a  strictly 
technical  education  in  the  work  of  War  and  Govern- 
ment. Few  parents,  therefore,  would  send  their  boys  to 
Xenophon's  schools,  at  any  rate  for  a  longer  period 
than  would  be  required  for  learning  just  the  rudiments 

^  "  The  perpetual  presence  of  masters,"  according  to  Xenophon,  "  best  inculcates 
proper  modesty  and  discipline." 


CHAP.  X  XENOPHON  267 

of  national  law  and  morality,  unless  they  designed  them 
for  a  public  career. 

Thus  Xenophon,  like  his  beloved  Spartans,  has  made 
war  the  main  object  of  education,  and,  like  the  Romans, 
uses  law  as  the  chief  instrument  of  instruction.  But  he 
has  seen  the  demerits  of  the  Spartan  "  Mess-clubs,"  and 
his  boys  take  their  meals  and  sleep,  as  a  rule,  at  home  ; 
only  the  epheboi,  as  in  Crete,  dine  and  sleep  always  in 
the  agora.  His  chief  merit  is  that  he  recognised  that 
an  educational  atmosphere,  evKoa-^ia  royv  TreiracBevfiivcov, 
free  from  the  associations  of  money-making,  is  essential 
to  an  educational  establishment. 

After  this  deeply  interesting  sketch  of  Xenophon's 
educational  ideals,  the  Education  of  Kuros  becomes  a 
historical  novel  with  a  purpose,  an  idealised  Kuros 
acting  as  example  throughout.  In  Book  i.  there  is  the 
description  of  him  as  the  model  boy,  courteous  to  his 
elders,  quick  and  eager  to  learn,  brave,  impetuous, 
loved  by  all,  but  rather  a  prig.  The  description  is  full 
of  improving  anecdotes  and  little  sermons.  The  book 
concludes  with  a  lecture  on  the  duties  of  a  general, 
dealing  with  tactics  and  the  best  means  of  training 
the  army  and  providing  supplies.  Xenophon  puts 
all  his  personal  experience  into  this,  and  there  is  plenty 
of  adventure  to  make  the  book  palatable  to  his  young 
readers. 

A  few  extracts  will  make  the  characteristics  of  this 
curious  work  plain. 

When  quite  young,  Kuros  went  with  his  mother 
Mandan6  to  stay  with  his  grandfather  Astuages,  King  of 
Media.  The  old  man,  thinking  that  the  boy  would  be 
homesick  and  wishing  to  comfort  him,  sent  for  him  at 
dinner  the  first  evening  and  set  all  sorts  of  rich  meats 
and  sauces  before  him.    Then  Kuros  said,  "  Grandfather, 


268  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  ii 

you  must  find  it  a  great  nuisance,  if  you  have  to  help 
yourself  to  so  many  courses  and  taste  so  many  kinds  of 
food."  His  grandfather  replied,  "  Why,  don't  you 
think  this  a  much  finer  dinner  than  what  you  get  at 
home  ?  "  "  No,  grandfather,"  replied  Kuros ;  "  at  home 
we  satisfy  our  appetites  by  a  short-cut,  just  bread  and 
meat,  but  here,  although  your  object  is  the  same,  you 
wind  in  and  out  so  much  on  the  way  that  it  takes  you 
ever  so  much  longer  to  reach  it."  "  But,  my  boy,  the 
delay  is  only  so  much  pleasure,  as  you  will  see  if  you 
try."  Kuros,  however,  persisted  in  refusing  the  unwhole- 
some dainties,  so  his  grandfather  compensated  him  by 
giving  him  an  enormous  help  of  meat.  "Is  all  this 
meant  for  me,"  asked  Kuros,  **  to  do  what  I  like  with  ?  " 
"  Yes,  my  boy."  Then  Kuros  took  the  meat  and  distri- 
buted it  to  the  servants  who  were  waiting  at  table, 
saying  to  one,  "  This  is  because  you  taught  me  to  ride  "  ; 
to  another,  "This  is  because  you  gave  me  a  javelin"  ;  to 
a  third,  "This  is  for  waiting  on  my  grandfather  so  nicely." 
From  this  example  the  young  reader  doubtless  learned 
not  to  desire  too  many  courses  or  too  rich  sweets  at 
table,  and  perhaps  also  to  be  grateful  to  every  one,  even 
servants.  After  this  Kuros  remained  in  Media,  while 
his  mother  returned  home.  "  He  soon  won  the  love  of 
his  schoolfellows,  and  quite  charmed  their  parents  when 
invited  to  their  houses  by  the  affection  which  he  showed 
for  their  sons."  A  good  moral,  this,  for  little  boys  who 
go  out  to  parties. 

This  model  boy  does  not  die  young,  but  grows  up. 
He  had  been  rather  a  chatterbox  when  small  (a  warning 
to  the  young  readers),  but  only  owing  to  his  desire  for 
knowledge  and  his  readiness  to  answer  questions ; 
besides,  he  chattered  in  such  a  nice  way  that  it  was  a 
pleasure  to  hear  him.     But  as  he  grew  older,  he  grew 


cHAP.x  XENOPHON  269 

more  bashful.  **  He  always  blushed  when  he  met  his 
elders,  and  he  talked  in  a  quieter  tone.  When  he 
played  with  his  schoolfellows,  he  chose  the  games 
where  he  expected  to  be  beaten,  not  those  in  which  he 
expected  to  win  ;  and  he  was  always  ready  to  lead  the 
laugh  against  himself  when  beaten."  Model  youth  ! 
Of  course,  he  soon  became  the  champion  at  every  form 
of  sport,  just  as  in  a  modern  book  of  the  kind  he 
would  have  won  at  least  five  "  Blues." 

Kuros  next  appears  as  a  mighty  hunter,  and  then  at 
the  age  of  fifteen  takes  a  leading  part  in  a  battle 
against  the  Assyrians  ;  in  fact,  it  is  his  strategy  and 
prowess  that  decide  the  day.  What  more  could  be 
wanted  in  a  book  for  boys  ?  The  modern  author 
would  give  him  a  grizzly  bear,  a  lion,  and  a  V.C.  : 
Xenophon  gives  him  the  Persian  equivalents. 

After  this,  little  more  is  said  of  Kuros'  boyhood. 
He  is  next  introduced  as  a  man  of  twenty-six,  just  put 
into  command  of  a  Persian  expedition  to  help  Media 
against  the  Assyrians.^  Henceforth  Xenophon's  object 
is  no  longer  to  point  a  moral,  but  to  instruct  budding 
generals  and  princes  in  strategy  and  government.  The 
remaining  books  are  a  "Handbook  of  Tactics,  with  hints 
on  the  proper  treatment  of  inferiors "  ;  so  they  fitly 
begin  with  a  long  lecture  by  Kuros'  father  on  the 
whole  duty  of  a  general.^  There  is,  however,  a  good 
deal  of  moral  advice  and  occasional  allegory  interspersed 
amid  the  tactics.  For  instance,  a  certain  Gobruas  came 
to  dine  with  the  Persian  army.  "  Seeing  how  plain  the 
food  was,  he  regarded  the  Persians  as  rather  bourgeois. 
But  then  he  observed  what  good  manners  the  guests 
had.  No  educated  Persian  would  allow  himself  to 
be  seen  staring  at  a  dish,  or  helping  himself  hurriedly, 

1  i.  5.  5.  2  j,  6_  ,.^6_ 


270  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  ii 

or  acting  at  table  without  proper  deliberation.  For 
they  think  it  piggish  to  be  excited  by  the  presence 
of  food  or  drink.  He  noticed,  too,  that  they  never 
asked  one  another  questions  which  might  cause  pain, 
that  their  jests  were  never  malicious  nor  their  wit  rude, 
that  everything  that  they  did  was  in  the  best  taste,  and 
that  they  never  lost  their  tempers  with  one  another/' 
And  so  on.  "  Manners  for  men,"  we  might  call  it,  by 
Xenophon. 

A  curiously  interesting  case  of  allegory,  which  well 
shows  how  imaginary  most  of  the  history  is,  may  be 
found  in  the  third  book.^  The  son  of  the  king 
of  Armenia  had  had  for  a  companion  and  tutor  a 
certain  Sophist,  of  whose  wisdom  he  was  very  proud. 
But  his  father  condemned  the  Sophist  for  corrupting^ 
the  boy.  When  he  was  being  led  to  execution,  the 
man  showed  what  a  saint  and  hero  he  was  by  calling 
the  boy  and  saying,  "  Do  not  be  angry  with  your  father 
for  putting  me  to  death.  For  it  is  no  wicked  purpose 
which  makes  him  do  it,  but  only  ignorance.  All  sins 
which  men  commit  in  ignorance  I  rank  as  involuntary 
errors."  Later,  the  father  confesses  that  he  put  the 
Sophist  to  death  for  stealing  away  his  son's  affections, 
"  for  I  feared  that  my  boy  might  love  him  more  than 
he  loved  me."  Kuros  admits  that  such  jealousy  is  an 
explanation  and  regards  it  as  pardonable. 

The  analogy  to  Sokrates  is  obvious  to  any  one. 
The  half- apology  for  the  Athenian  people  is  very 
interesting  in  the  mouth  of  the  old  Socratic  companion 
Xenophon. 

But  the  object  of  the  Education  of  Kuros  is,  after 
all,  to  teach  generalship.  A  couple  of  examples  of  the 
way   in    which    this    is    done   will    suffice.      On    one 

^  iii.  I.  38.  2  Sia^pdelpeiv^  the  word  used  in  Sokrates'  accusation. 


I 


CHAP.  X  XENOPHON  271 

occasion  •^  Kuros  orders  the  foot-cuirassiers  to  lead  the 
way  in  a  forced  march,  and  kindly  explains  the  object 
of  such  a  manoeuvre.  "This  command  I  give,"  he 
says,  "  because  they  are  the  heaviest  part  of  the  army. 
When  the  heaviest  part  is  in  the  van,  obviously  it  is 
quite  easy  for  the  other  arms,  being  lighter,  to  keep 
up.  But  if  the  quickest  detachment  is  in  front  on  a 
night  march,  it  is  not  surprising  if  the  army  straggles, 
for  the  vanguard  goes  faster  than  the  rest."  Again, 
Kuros  could  call  all  his  officers  by  name,  to  their  great 
surprise.^  "  For  he  thought  it  very  absurd  that 
tradesmen  should  know  the  names  of  all  their  tools, 
and  yet  a  general  should  be  so  stupid  as  not  to  know 
the  names  of  his  officers  whom  he  must  use  as  his 
tools  in  the  most  serious  emergencies.  Soldiers  who 
thought  that  their  general  knew  their  names  would, 
he  considered,  be  more  eager  to  do  heroic  deeds  in  his 
presence,  and  less  eager  to  play  the  coward.  It  seemed 
also  to  be  foolish  to  be  obliged  to  give  orders,  when 
he  wanted  something  done,  in  the  way  some  masters 
do  in  their  households,  '  Fetch  me  some  water.  Some- 
body '  ;  or  *  Cut  some  firewood.  Someone.'  For  when 
the  order  is  addressed  to  no  one  in  particular,  each 
stands  looking  at  his  neighbour  and  expecting  him  to 
carry  it  out." 

The  military  part  is  exceedingly  well  done.  Xeno- 
phon  was  one  of  the  few  good  strategists  whom  Hellas 
produced,  and  his  remarks  on  tactics,  the  hygiene  of  an 
army,  and  discipline  are  sound  and  useful.  What  is 
more,  his  novel  is  interesting  and  occasionally  witty  : 
it  is  distinctly  good  reading.  He  has  disguised  his 
powder  in  the  most  appetising  jam,  and  so  has  achieved 
with  success  the  difficult  task  of  writing  a  novel  with 

^  V-  3*  37*  ^  V,  3.  46.     Notice  the  Socratic  comparison. 


272  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  partii 

a  purpose.  Had  books  been  common  then,  his  work 
would  have  been  both  popular  and  useful  in  Boys' 
Libraries,  and  have  done  good  service  as  a  school  prize. 
But  from  Plato  it  only  provoked  the  malicious  and  not 
very  deep  criticism  that  it  was  unhistorical  and  unsound.-^ 
"  Of  Kuros,"  he  says,  "  I  conjecture  that,  though  he 
was  a  good  general  and  a  patriot,  he  had  not  come 
across  the  merest  scrap  of  sound  education,  and  never 
applied  his  mind  to  the  art  of  managing  a  household.^ 
For,  being  absent  on  campaigns  all  his  life,  he  allowed 
the  women  to  bring  up  his  children.  The  women 
spoilt  the  boys,  letting  no  one  gainsay  them,  and 
made  them  effeminate,  not  teaching  them  the  Persian 
habits  or  their  father's  profession,  but  Median  luxury. 
Hence  the  collapse  of  Persia  under  Kambuses." 

1  Plato,  Laws,  694  c-d.  ^  ^  j^jf  ^j.  Xenophon's  Economics. 


PART   III 


273 


CHAPTER   XI 

CONCLUDING    ESSAY  :    THE    SCHOOLS    OF    HELLAS 

The  preceding  chapters  have  sufficiently  established,  as 
it  seems  to  me,  that  Hellenic  education  alike  at  Sparta 
and  at  Athens,  in  theory  and  in  practice,  aimed  at  pro- 
ducing the  best  possible  citizen,  not  the  best  possible 
money-maker  ;  it  sought  the  good  of  the  community, 
not  the  good  of  the  individual.  The  methods  and 
materials  of  education  naturally  differed  with  the  con- 
ception of  good  citizenship  held  in  each  locality,  but 
the  ideal  object  was  always  the  same. 

The  Spartan,  with  his  schoolboy  conception  of  life, 
believed  that  the  whole  duty  of  man  was  to  be  brave, 
to  be  indifferent  to  hardships  and  pain,  to  be  a  good 
soldier,  and  to  be  always  in  perfect  physical  condition  ; 
when  his  Hellenic  instincts  needed  aesthetic  satisfaction, 
he  made  his  military  drill  into  a  musical  dance  and 
sang  songs  in  honour  of  valour.  Long  speaking  and 
lengthy  meditation  he  regarded  with  contempt,  for  he 
preferred  deeds  to  words  or  thoughts,  and  the  essence 
of  a  situation  could  always  be  expressed  in  a  single 
sentence.  This  Spartan  conception  of  citizenship  fixed 
the  aim  of  Spartan  education.  Daily  hardships,  endless 
physical  training,  perpetual  tests  of  pluck  and  endur- 
ance, were  the  lot  of  the  Spartan  boy.     He  did  not 

275 


276  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS         part  hi 

learn  to  read  or  write  or  count ;  he  was  trained  to 
speak  only  in  single  words  or  in  the  shortest  of 
sentences,  for  what  need  had  a  Spartan  of  letters  or  of 
chattering?  His  imagination  had  also  to  be  subordi- 
nated to  the  national  ideal  :  his  dances,  his  songs,  his 
very  deities,  were  all  military. 

The  Athenian's  conception  of  the  perfect  citizen  was 
much  wider  and  much  more  difficult  of  attainment. 
Pluck  and  harmony  of  physical  development  did  not 
satisfy  him  :  there  must  be  equal  training  of  mind  and 
imagination,  without  any  sacrifice  of  bodily  health. 
He  demanded  of  the  ideal  citizen  perfection  of  body, 
extensive  mental  activity  and  culture,  and  irreproachable 
taste.  "  We  love  and  pursue  wisdom,  yet  avoid  bodily 
sloth  ;  we  love  and  pursue  beauty,  yet  avoid  bad  taste 
and  extravagance,"  proclaims  Perikles  in  his  summary 
of  Athenian  ideals.  Consequently  Athenian  education 
was  triple  in  its  aims ;  its  activities  were  divided 
between  body,  mind,  and  taste.  The  body  of  the 
young  Athenian  was  symmetrically  developed  by  the 
scientifically  designed  exercises  of  the  palaistra.  At 
eighteen  the  State  imposed  upon  him  two  years  of 
physical  training  at  public  cost.  In  after  life  he  could 
exercise  himself  in  the  public  gymnasia  without  any 
payment ;  there  was  no  actual  compulsion,  except  the 
perpetual  imminence  of  military  service,  which,  how- 
ever, almost  amounted  to  compulsion. 

As  to  mental  instruction,  every  boy  had  to  learn 
reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  and  gain  such  acquaintance 
with  the  national  literature  as  these  studies  involved. 
The  other  branch  of  primary  education,  playing  and 
singing,  intended  to  develop  the  musical  ear  and  taste, 
was  optional,  but  rarely  neglected.  The  secondary 
education  given   by  the   Sophists,  rhetors,  and  philo- 


CHAP.  XI  CONCLUDING  ESSAY  277 

sophers  was  only  intended  for  the  comparatively  few 
who  had  wealth  and  leisure. 

Taste  and  imagination  were  cultivated  in  the  music- 
and  art-schools,  but  the  influences  of  the  theatre,  the 
Akropolis,  the  temples  and  public  monuments,  and  the 
dances  which  accompanied  every  festival  and  religious 
occasion,  were  still  more  potent,  and  were  exercised 
upon  all  alike.  This  assthetic  aspect  of  education  was 
regarded  as  particularly  important  in  Hellas  owing  to 
the  prevalent  idea  that  art  and  music  had  a  strong 
influence  over  character. 

For  the  training  of  character  was  before  all  things 
the  object  of  Hellenic  education  ;  it  was  this  which 
Hellenic  parents  particularly  demanded  of  the  school- 
master. So  strongly  did  they  believe  that  virtue  could 
be  taught,  that  they  held  the  teacher  responsible  for  any 
subsequent  misdemeanour  of  his  pupils.  Alkibiades 
and  Kritias  had  ruined  Athens  :  they  were  Sokrates' 
pupils  :  therefore  execute  Sokrates  ;  this  seemed  per- 
fectly logical  to  an  Athenian.  If  a  Sophist  sued  a 
defaulting  pupil  for  an  unpaid  bill,  he  was  regarded  as 
ridiculous,  for  it  was  his  business  to  teach  justice,  and 
if  those  who  had  learned  under  him  behaved  unjustly, 
it  was  clearly  because  his  teaching  had  been  worthless. 

Since  the  main  object  of  the  schools  of  Hellas  was 
to  train  and  mould  the  character  of  the  young,  it  would 
be  natural  to  suppose  that  the  schoolmasters  and  every 
one  else  who  was  to  come  into  contact  with  the  boys 
were  chosen  with  immense  care,  special  attention  being 
given  to  their  reputation  for  virtue  and  conduct.  At 
Sparta  this  principle  was  certainly  observed.  Education 
was  controlled  by  a  paidonomos,  selected  from  the 
citizens  of  the  highest  position  and  reputation,  and  the 
teaching  was  given,  not  by  hired  foreigners  or  slaves. 


278  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS         part  in 

but  by  the  citizens  themselves  under  his  supervision. 
But  then  the  teaching  at  Sparta  dealt  mostly  with  the 
manners  and  customs  of  the  State,  or  with  bodily  and 
military  exercises,  known  to  every  grown  man,  and  the 
citizens  had  plenty  of  leisure.  The  Athenians  were  in 
a  more  difficult  position.  There  were  more  subjects 
for  the  boy  to  learn,  and  some  of  them  the  parents 
might  have  neither  the  capacity  nor  the  time  to  teach. 
Owing  also  to  the  day-school  system  at  Athens  and  the 
peculiarities  of  Hellenic  manners,  the  boys  needed 
some  one  always  at  hand  to  take  them  to  and  from 
school  and  palaistra.  Thus  both  paid  teachers  and 
attendants  were  needed.  But  it  was  also  necessary  not 
to  let  education  become  too  expensive,  lest  the  poor 
should  be  unable  to  afford  it.  Consequently  the 
paidagogoi  came  often  to  be  the  cheapest  and  most 
worthless  slaves,  and  the  schoolmasters  as  a  class  to  be 
regarded  with  supreme  contempt.  No  doubt  careful 
parents  chose  excellent  paidagogoi,  schoolmasters,  and 
paidotribai  for  their  sons,  and  made  the  choice  a  matter 
of  much  deliberation  :  the  teachers  at  the  best  schools 
and  palaistrai  were  often  men  of  position  and  repute. 
But  that  the  class  as  a  whole  was  regarded  with 
contempt  there  can  be  little  doubt.  The  children  went 
into  a  school  as  they  would  have  gone  into  any  other 
shop,  with  a  sense  of  superiority,  bringing  with  them 
their  pets,  leopards  and  cats  and  dogs,  and  playing 
with  them  during  lesson-times.  Idlers  and  loungers 
came  into  the  schools  and  palaistrai,  as  they  came  into 
the  market-booths,  to  chatter  and  look  on,  seriously 
interrupting  the  work.  The  schoolmasters  and  paido- 
tribai at  Athens  were,  in  fact,  too  dependent  upon  their 
public  for  subsistence  to  take  a  strong  line,  and,  in 
spite    of   their    power,    often    exercised,    of   inflicting 


CHAP.  XI  CONCLUDING  ESSAY  279 

corporal  punishment,  they  seem  to  have  been  distinctly 
at  the  mercy  of  the  pupils  and  their  friends.  The  paida- 
gogoi  too,  though  they  seem  to  have  kept  their  pupils 
in  order,  were  often  not  the  right  people  to  control  a 
boy's  conduct ;  they  were  apt  to  have  a  villainous 
accent,  and  still  more  villainous  habits.  It  must  be 
confessed  that  the  Athenians,  in  their  desire  to  make 
education  cheap,  ran  a  very  great  risk  of  spoiling  what 
in  their  opinion  was  its  chief  object,  the  training  of 
character. 

Otherwise,  they  sought  this  end  whole-heartedly. 
The  games,  physical  exercises,  and  hardships  of  a  boy's 
life  were  meant  to  develop  his  pluck,  fortitude,  and 
endurance.  For,  according  to  the  Hellenic  view,  now 
too  much  neglected  in  many  quarters,  the  condition  and 
treatment  of  the  body  had  a  very  important  effect  both 
upon  mental  activities  and  upon  character.  It  was  for 
this  reason  that  physical  training  formed  at  least  half  of 
every  system  of  education  practised  in  Hellenic  states 
or  recommended  by  Hellenic  philosophers.  A  National 
School  which  trained  the  minds  only,  and  neglected  the 
bodies  of  the  pupils,  would  have  been  inconceivable  to 
a  Hellene.  It  was  not  merely  that  physical  infirmities 
interrupted  the  free  exercise  of  thought,  or  led  to 
peevishness  and  lack  of  decision.  Man  was  a  whole  to 
the  Hellenes,  and  one  part  of  him  could  not  be  sound 
if  the  other  parts  were  not.  So  strongly  did  they  hold 
this  opinion,  that  they  more  than  half  believed  that 
physical  beauty  was  a  sign  of  moral  beauty  ;  it  was  this 
latent  idea  which  added  an  additional  significance  to  the 
exercises  of  the  palaistra  with  their  symmetrical  develop- 
ment of  the  body,  and  to  the  competitions  for  manly 
beauty  which  were  prevalent  throughout  the  country  ; 
it  lent,  moreover,  a  nobler  aspect  to  that  passion  for 


28o  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  iii 

the  outward  loveliness  of  youth  which  the  vases, 
sculpture,  and  literature  of  ancient  Hellas  reveal  so 
surprisingly.  But,  besides  this  vaguer  and  more 
doubtful  connection  with  character,  bodily  exercise  and 
development  were  supposed  to  have  a  special  and  in- 
dubitable effect  in  strengthening  the  resolution  and 
will-power.  The  object  of  physical  training  was  only 
in  a  minor  degree  to  keep  the  body  in  good  condition  ; 
its  main  aim  was  to  develop  strength  of  character, 
determination,  fortitude,  endurance,  pluck,  and  energy. 
But,  in  accordance  with  that  Hellenic  canon  of 
"  moderation  in  all  things,"  which  was  worked  out  so 
thoroughly  by  Aristotle,  there  might  be  too  much,  as 
well  as  too  little,  of  all  these  ethical  qualities.  Conse- 
quently physical  exercise  must  be  taken  only  in  due 
moderation,  and  carefully  balanced  by  artistic  and 
musical  training,  which  militated  in  an  opposite 
direction,  leading,  if  pursued  in  excess,  to  weakness  of 
character,  indecision,  effeminacy,  cowardice,  and  sloth. 
A  scientifically  arranged  symmetry  between  the  two 
would  produce  the  perfect  character. 

In  the  literary  and  aesthetic  schools  there  were  two 
elements  of  the  subjects  taught,  both  with  an  ethical 
effect,  matter  and  form.  The  literature  studied  in  the 
schools  was  expected  to  be  full  of  improving  suggestions 
and  life-histories  of  heroes  worthy  of  imitation,  couched 
in  the  form  most  attractive  to  young  minds,  in  order 
that  they  might  appreciate  and  love  its  teaching  and 
examples.  The  music  which  the  boys  played  or  heard, 
the  songs  which  they  sang,  the  dances  which  they  per- 
formed or  watched,  the  art  which  they  copied  or 
observed,  must  be  such  as  would  influence  their 
characters  for  good — mould  them,  that  is,  in  accordance 
with  the  national  ideal.     For   Hellenic   morality  was 


CHAP.  XI  CONCLUDING  ESSAY  281 

aesthetic  ;  they  followed  the  course  which  appealed  to 
their  imagination  and  sense  of  beauty.  It  was  there- 
fore the  object  of  education  to  make  the  children  see 
and  feel  beauty  in  virtue,  and  good  art  in  good  ethics, 
in  order  that  they  might  find  satisfaction  for  their 
aesthetic  cravings — the  dominant  instinct  of  a  Hellene 
— in  living  good  and  upright  lives. 

For  the  unanimous  feeling  of  Hellas  based  ethics 
not  upon  duty,  but  upon  happiness — upon  the  satis- 
faction, that  is,  of  the  instincts.  But  this  eudasmonistic 
attitude  was  qualified  by  an  important  consideration 
which  is  often  forgotten.  Owing  to  the  solidarity  of 
Hellenic  life,  the  happiness  which  was  sought  was 
primarily  not  that  of  the  individual  but  that  of  the 
community.  The  readiness  of  the  average  Hellene, 
during  the  best  period  of  the  country,  to  sacrifice  every- 
thing on  behalf  of  his  city  is  very  remarkable.  The 
real,  if  unformulated,  basis  of  his  ethics  came  thus  to  be 
not  personal  pleasure,  but  duty  to  the  State.  When  the 
individualism  of  the  Socratic  age  overthrew  this  basis, 
the  Hellenes  fell  back  from  the  happiness  of  the  State 
to  the  happiness  of  the  self,  and  both  patriotism  and 
personal  morality  sufi^ered  from  the  change. 

It  was  the  sense  of  duty  to  the  State,  the  resolution 
to  promote  the  happiness  of  the  whole  citizen-body, 
which  made  parents  willing  to  undergo  any  sacrifice  in 
order  to  have  their  sons  educated  in  the  way  which 
would  best  minister  to  this  ideal.  The  bills  of  the 
masters  of  letters  and  music  and  of  the  paidotribai,  and 
the  lengthy  loss  of  the  son's  services  in  the  shop  or  on 
the  farm  in  Attica,  the  break-up  of  family  life  at  Sparta, 
must  have  been  a  sore  trial  to  the  parents  and  have 
involved  many  sacrifices.  Yet  thefe  is  no  trace  of 
grumbling.     The  Hellene  felt  that  it  was  quite  as  much 


282  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS         part  in 

his  duty  to  the  State  to  educate  her  future  citizens 
properly  as  it  was  to  be  ready  to  die  in  her  cause,  and 
he  did  both  ungrudgingly.  If  the  laws  which  made 
the  teaching  of  letters  compulsory  at  Athens  fell  into 
desuetude,  it  was  only  because  the  citizens  needed  no 
compulsion  to  make  them  do  their  duty.  Nor  had  the 
State  to  pay  the  school  bills  ;  for  every  citizen,  however 
poor,  was  ready  to  make  the  necessary  sacrifices  of 
personal  luxuries  and  amusements  in  order  to  do  his 
duty  to  the  community  by  having  his  children  properly 
taught.  The  State  only  interfered  to  make  schooling 
as  cheap  and  as  easy  to  obtain  as  possible. 

The  solidarity  of  Hellenic  life,  which  converted 
eudasmonism  into  patriotism,  was  carefully  encouraged 
by  the  educational  system.  Sparta,  with  this  object, 
invented  the  boarding-school,  where  boys  learnt  from 
early  years  to  sink  their  individualities  in  a  community 
of  character  and  interests.  The  Athenians  and  most  of 
the  other  Hellenes,  on  the  other  hand,  had  day-schools. 
This  fact  might  seem  to  militate  against  the  principle 
which  I  have  stated.  But  Hellenic  custom  qualified 
the  system  of  day-schools  in  a  particular  way.  There 
were  no  home-influences  in  Hellas.  The  men-folk  lived 
out  of  doors.  The  young  Athenian  or  Ephesian  from 
his  sixth  year  onwards  spent  his  whole  day  away  from 
home  (excepting  possibly  for  an  interval  for  the  mid- 
day meal),  in  the  company  of  his  contemporaries,  at 
school  or  palaistra  or  in  the  streets.  When  he  came 
home,  there  was  no  home-life.  His  father  was  hardly 
ever  in  the  house.  His  mother  was  a  nonentity,  living 
in  the  women's  apartments  ;  he  probably  saw  little  of 
her.  His  real  home  was  the  palaistra,  his  chief 
companions  his  contemporaries  and  his  paidagogos. 
He  learned  to  dissociate  himself  from  his  family  and 


CHAP.  XI  CONCLUDING  ESSAY  283 

associate  himself  with  his  fellow-citizens.  No  doubt  he 
lost  much  by  this  system,  but  the  solidarity  of  the  State 
gained. 

The  duties  of  citizenship  were  also  impressed  upon 
the  boys  in  other  and  more  direct  ways,  especially  its 
supreme  duty,  at  any  rate  in  those  days,  of  military 
service.  The  schools  of  Sparta  and  Crete  were  one 
long  training  for  war.  The  other  States  set  apart  two 
years  of  the  boy's  life,  those  from  eighteen  to  twenty, 
as  a  period  of  conscription,  during  which  he  was  at  the 
service  of  his  city  and  under  the  orders  of  the  military 
authorities,  learning  tactics  and  the  use  of  arms,  and 
being  practised  in  the  life  of  camps  and  forts.  The 
young  recruit  took  a  solemn  oath  of  allegiance  to  his 
country  and  its  constitution  :  the  sacredness  of  his  civic 
duties  was  impressed  upon  him  from  the  first.  The 
first  function  of  his  new  officers  was  to  take  him  on  a 
personally  conducted  tour,  so  to  speak,  of  the  national 
temples,  that  he  might  realise  something  of  the  religious 
life  and  history  of  his  country.  His  weapons  were 
solemnly  presented  to  him  in  the  theatre  of  Dionusos, 
before  the  assembled  people  ;  they  were  sacred,  and  to 
lose  them  in  battle  or  disgrace  them  by  cowardice  was 
not  only  dishonourable,  it  was  impious.  Nor  were  the 
boys  allowed  to  grow  up  in  ignorance  of  the  constitu- 
tion of  their  city  :  the  ephebos  of  eighteen  had  to  be 
acquainted  with  the  laws,  some  of  which  he  had 
probably  learnt  in  the  music-school,  set  to  a  tune. 
Every  means  was  taken  of  making  the  boys  realise  that 
they  were  members  of  a  community,  to  whose  prosperity 
and  happiness  their  own  advantage  or  pleasure  must  be 
subordinated.  In  this  way  grew  up  the  strong  Hellenic 
sense  of  an  obligation  of  utter  self-sacrifice  on  behalf  of 
the  State. 


284  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  hi 

But  education  had  also  to  consult  the  happiness  of 
the  children  as  well  as  the  happiness  of  the  community, 
although  in  a  lesser  degree.  This  may  seem  a  startling 
statement  to  make  with  regard  to  Spartan  education. 
Nevertheless,  I  believe  it  to  be  strictly  true.  It  must 
be  remembered  that  all  our  accounts  of  the  rigours  and 
horrors  of  Spartan  methods  come  from  Athenian  writers 
who  in  all  probability  had  never  been  to  Lakedaimon. 
Xenophon,  who  had  his  sons  educated  there,  gives  a 
much  milder,  and  wholly  eulogistic,  account.  The 
somewhat  hedonistic  Attic  visitor  must  have  watched 
Spartan  games  and  exercises  with  much  the  feelings  of  a 
French  visitor  at  an  English  public  school  ;  he  found 
it  difficult  to  realise  that  the  boys  underwent  such  hard- 
ships of  their  own  free  will.  Then  we  must  remember 
what  the  Spartan  boys  were.  They  were  a  picked  breed 
of  peculiar  toughness,  strength,  and  health  ;  for  centuries 
every  invalid  had  been  exposed  at  birth  or  rejected 
as  incapable  of  the  school-system.  Generation  after 
generation  had  been  trained  to  be  thick-skinned  and 
stout-hearted  ;  pluck  and  endurance  were  hereditary, 
and  asceticism  was  a  national  characteristic.  The  whole 
system,  with  its  perpetual  fighting,  its  rough  games,  its 
hardships,  its  fagging  and  "  roughing-it  **  in  the  woods,  is 
just  what  boys  of  this  sort  might  be  expected  to  evolve 
for  themselves  because  they  liked  it.  I  have  already 
pointed  out,  in  my  account  of  the  Spartan  schools,  how 
very  similar  are  many  of  the  customs  which  grew  up  at 
the  older  English  public  schools,  mainly  on  the  boys' 
own  initiative.  If  English  boys,  brought  up  on  the 
whole  much  less  roughly,  evolved  such  customs  of  their 
own  free  will,  the  young  Spartans  may  reasonably  be 
supposed  to  have  accepted  them  gladly.  One  significant 
token  of  this  survives.     The  violent   and  sometimes 


CHAP.  XI  CONCLUDING  ESSAY  285 

fatal  floggings  of  the  epheboi  at  the  altar  of  Artemis 
Orthia  were  entirely  voluntary  on  the  part  of  the 
victims  ;  yet  there  was  no  lack  of  candidates  even  in 
Plutarch's  days.  The  Spartan  school-system  was,  in 
fact,  an  exact  expression  of  the  national  characteristics, 
and  accordingly  was  entirely  acceptable  to  the  Spartan 
boys. 

That  the  Athenian  system  was  designed  to  suit  the 
wishes  of  the  Athenian  children  is  less  difficult  to 
establish.  It  is  only  necessary  to  think  what  the 
primary  schools  were  like.  When  once  the  letters  and 
rudiments  of  reading  and  writing  had  been  mastered, 
the  process  perhaps  being  aided  by  metrical  alphabets 
and  dramatised  spelling,  the  boys  began  to  read,  learn 
by  heart,  and  write  down  the  fascinating  stories  of 
adventure  and  the  romantic  tales  of  Homer.  There 
was  no  grammar  to  be  studied  ;  that,  when .  invented, 
came  at  a  later  age  as  a  voluntary  subject.  There  were 
no  years  wasted  over  "  Primary  Readers'*  consisting  of 
dull  and  second-rate  stories.  The  boys  began  at  once 
upon  the  best  and  most  attractive  literature  in  their 
language,  and  it  remained  their  study  for  many  years, 
and  was  still  remembered  and  loved  in  after  life.  Nor 
can  it  be  doubted  that  the  music-  and  art-schools  were 
attractive  to  Athenian  boys,  sons  of  a  people  who  filled 
their  whole  city  with  art,  and  made  their  year  a  round 
of  musical  festivals.  A  large  part,  too,  of  Athenian 
schooling  was  what  now  would  be  called  play ;  for  the 
Hellene  recognised  the  importance  of  physical  exercise 
in  the  upbringing  of  the  young,  and  included  it  in  his 
conception  of  education. 

The  effect  upon  Hellenic  culture  of  thus  making 
education  attractive  was  far-reaching.  Instead  of 
regarding   with   aversion    or  a  bored  indifference  the 


286  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS         part  m 

subjects  which  they  had  studied  at  school,  the  Hellenes 
had  an  affection  for  them  and  continued  to  practise  and 
improve  themselves  in  them.  Throughout  their  lives 
they  were  eager  to  hear  recitations  of  Homer.  At 
banquets  they  sang  the  songs  and  played  the  music  on 
the  lyre  which  they  had  learnt  at  school.  Elderly  men 
would  return  to  a  music-master,  to  improve  their  style, 
or  rush  off  to  hear  a  Sophist  lecture  on  geography  or 
astronomy.  The  exercises  of  the  palaistra  were  pursued 
till  old  age  made  them  impossible.  Grown  citizens 
retained  throughout  an  affection  for  education,  and  went 
on  educating  themselves  all  their  lives.  Thus  an 
Hellenic  city  formed  a  centre  of  widely  diffused  culture, 
a  home  where  literature  and  art  and  music  and  research 
could  flourish  surrounded  by  appreciation  and  capable 
criticism.  Children,  too,  seeing  how  much  their 
elders  were  preoccupied  with  education,  found  it  even 
more  attractive  than  its  designers  had  made  it,  since 
they  were  not  constrained  by  nursery-logic  to  see  in  it 
one  of  the  plagues  of  youth  from  which  "  grown-ups  " 
were  set  free.  No  doubt  the  Hellenic  schoolmaster 
was  much  assisted  in  his  endeavour  to  make  education 
attractive  by  the  intellectual  curiosity  which  was  a 
feature  of  all  those  States  where  the  intellect  was 
systematically  trained.  The  young  Athenian  or  young 
Chian  was  exceedingly  eager  to  learn.  In  fact,  his 
eagerness  was  excessive  ;  he  was  too  much  in  a  hurry  ; 
he  desired  to  have  his  information  given  to  him  ready- 
made,  not  having  the  patience  to  think  or  to  undertake 
researches  on  his  own  account.  Hence  the  phenomenal 
success  and  educational  unsoundness  of  those  prototypes 
of  the  modern  "  crammer,"  the  Sophists,  who  supplied 
their  pupils  with  a  superficial  knowledge  of  many  sub- 
jects ready-made,  and  already  dressed  in  striking  phrase- 


I 


CHAP.  XI  CONCLUDING  ESSAY  287 

ology.  This  intellectual  appetite  for  the  accumulation 
of  facts  made  secondary  education  at  Athens  attractive 
without  much  effort  on  the  part  of  the  teachers,  but  it 
was  not  allowed  to  influence  the  primary  schools  ;  a 
sound  and  symmetrical  development  of  mind  and  body, 
artistic  taste  and  moral  character,  had  to  precede  the 
accumulation  of  facts.  This  latter  stage  too  was 
universally  treated  as  optional.  In  unintellectual 
districts  it  found  no  place,  and  even  in  Athens  it  was 
only  for  those  who  felt  a  desire  for  it  ;  it  was  not  forced 
upon  the  unwilling  and  incapable.  For  education  was 
regarded  as  the  development  of  the  latent  powers  of 
the  individual  personality,  it  was  no  vain  attempt  to 
excite  or  implant  non-existent  faculties.  Every  one  had 
a  body,  which  he  must  make  as  efficient  as  possible,  for 
the  service  of  the  State  ;  every  one,  in  an  aesthetic  people, 
had  a  taste  which  could  be  developed  ;  every  one  had 
enough  intellect  to  learn  his  letters  ;  and  every  one, 
above  all,  had  a  character  to  be  formed.  But  not 
every  one  could  be  an  international  athlete  or  a  first- 
class  artist  or  musician,  and  not  every  one  had  sufficient 
mental  gifts  to  combine  the  accumulation  of  facts  with 
profit  or  enjoyment. 

In  fact,  Hellenic  sentiment  was  distinctly  adverse  to 
great  development  in  any  one  direction  :  the  Hellenes 
had  a  reasonable  horror  of  undue  specialisation  at  school. 
The  object  of  education  was  to  make  symmetrical, 
all-round  men,  sound  alike  in  body,  mind,  character, 
and  taste,  not  professional  athletes  who  were  mentally 
vacuous  and  without  any  appreciation  of  art,  nor  great 
thinkers  of  stunted  physique,  nor  celebrated  musicians 
who  lacked  brains.  Opponents  of  the  Spartan  system 
tried  to  condemn  it  on  this  ground,  as  a  specialisation 
intended   only    to    produce    good    soldiers  ;    but   the 


288  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  hi 

pro-Spartans  seemed  to  have  claimed  in  return  that  it 
developed  both  character  and  good  taste  in  judging  art 
and  music,  even  if  it  produced  small  capacity  for  painting 
or  playing,  while  Laconian  terseness  involved  a  greater 
depth  of  mental  exercise  than  Athenian  verbosity. 

Thus  Hellenic  education  was  not  intended  to  pro- 
duce professional  knowledge  of  a  single  subject ;  such 
technical  instruction  was  deemed  unworthy  of  the  name 
of  education,  and  was  excluded  from  the  schools.  The 
subjects  studied  were  for  the  most  part  a  means,  not 
an  end.  Just  as  a  walk  is  sometimes  taken  not  for  the 
sake  of  reaching  any  particular  place,  but  in  order  to 
keep  the  muscles  of  the  body  in  good  condition,  so 
education  in  Hellas  was  meant  to  develop  and  exercise 
the  muscles  of  mind,  imagination,  and  character,  not  to 
inculcate  so-called  "useful"  information.  The  literature 
read  at  school  was  imaginative  poetry,  like  that  of  Homer 
or  Simonides,  not  the  practical  prose  treatises  upon 
Agriculture  and  Economics  which  utilitarian  motives 
would  have  demanded.  For  the  poetry  was  both  at- 
tractive to  the  boys  and  improving  for  their  characters, 
while  the  handbooks,  however  excellent,  only  enhanced 
their  financial  prospects.  The  immediate  future  of  the 
individual  boy  may,  it  is  true,  depend  somewhat  largely 
upon  the  utilitarian  knowledge  which  he  has  learnt  at 
school,  although  a  sound  education  in  the  Hellenic  sense 
of  the  word  will  prove  more  advantageous  to  him  in 
the  long  run  ;  but  the  future  of  a  State  depends  upon 
the  character  of  its  citizens.  Thus  a  truly  national 
education  like  that  of  Sparta  or  of  Athens  seeks  to  train 
the  characters  of  the  future  citizens  ;  having  formed 
their  characters,  it  leaves  them  with  well-justified  con- 
fidence to  gain  what  technical  instruction  they  need  for 
themselves.     At  a  national  crisis  it  was  not  skill  in  trade 


CHAP.  XI  CONCLUDING  ESSAY  289 

or  profession,  not  good  cobbling,  nor  good  weaving, 
that  Athens  required  of  her  citizens  ;  but  pluck,  energy, 
self-sacrifice,  obedience,  and  loyalty.  Money  was,  it  is 
true,  required  for  building  the  triremes  and  for  fortify- 
ing the  city  :  it  was  therefore  well  that  Athenian  trade 
and  manufactures  should  prosper.  But  Athens  recog- 
nised, and  rightly,  that  her  financial  resources  would  be 
better  served  if  she  trained  her  boys  to  be  industrious 
and  thrifty  and  ascetic,  if  she  made  it  repugnant  to  their 
taste  to  fling  their  money  away  upon  luxury  and  self- 
indulgence,  than  if  she  founded  the  finest  system  of 
technical  instruction  possible. 

But  whether  Sparta  and  Athens  could  have  ignored 
technical  and  utilitarian  subjects  so  wholly  in  their 
schools,  if  they  had  been  educating  the  whole  popula- 
tion of  the  State,  is  another  question.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  the  Spartan  and  Athenian  citizens  who 
attended  the  schools  were  only  a  fraction  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Laconia  and  Attica.  They  corresponded 
pretty  closely  to  the  upper  classes,  the  aristocracy  and 
gentlemen,  of  a  modern  State.  The  bulk  of  the  middle 
and  lower  classes  in  a  Hellenic  State  were  either  foreign 
immigrants,  who  possessed  no  civic  rights  and  did  not 
usually  attend  the  schools,  or  serfs  and  slaves.  Athens, 
like  mediaeval  Florence,  was  only  a  democracy  in  the 
very  limited  sense  that  her  full  citizens — a  governing 
class,  that  is,  and  a  mere  fraction  of  the  population — 
had  equality  of  civic  rights  among  themselves  :  the  rest 
had  no  rights  at  all.  Sparta  was  a  "  mixed  constitution  "  ; 
but  that  did  not  mean  that  the  middle  and  lower  classes, 
the  Perioikoi  and  Helots,  had  any  share  in  it  whatever. 

Consequently  education  in  Hellas  is  the  education  of 
a  small  upper  class,  not  of  the  whole  population  of  the 
State.     The  schools  of  Hellas  were  not  necessarily  for 

u 


290  SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS  part  iii 

the  wealthiest  inhabitants  of  the  country,  for  there  were 
plenty  of  rich  Metoikoi  and  poor  citizens  at  Athens  ; 
not  necessarily  for  the  boys  who  had  most  leisure,  for 
the  sausage-seller  goes  to  school  as  well  as  a  Nikias  or 
Alkibiades  ;  but  for  a  hereditary  aristocracy  of  birth, 
for  that  is  what  Hellenic  "  citizenship  "  means.  The 
boys  who  attended  the  lessons  of  Dionusios  or  Elpias 
were  the  sons  and  grandsons  of  a  cultured  class,  no 
matter  how  humble  their  circumstances  might  be  ;  their 
families  had  lived  in  Attica,  they  believed,  from  time 
immemorial,  and  were  probably  descended  from  the 
local  deities.  They  had  the  views  of  an  hereditary 
caste,  including  a  certain  preoccupation  with  physical 
and  military  activities,  and  a  contempt  for  trade. 

For  the  duties  of  such  an  aristocracy  did  not  consist 
in  heaping  up  riches  ;  their  position  was  comparatively 
independent  of  their  financial  successes.     Their  work 
was,  in  brief,  to  govern  and  to  fight.     They  composed 
the  electorate  of  the  State,  which  chose  the  magistrates  ; 
they  alone  were  members  of  the  public  Assembly  ;  they 
alone  were  eligible  for  office.     They  sat  as  dikastai — 
jurymen  and  justices  in  one — in  the  law-courts  ;   they 
made    the   laws   and    they   administered    them.     The 
national  honour  and  morality  lay  in  their  hands,  for 
they  controlled  alike  the  foreign  and  the  home  policy 
of  the  State.     They  formed,  too,  the  cultured    circle 
which  governed  natural   taste  ;    it  was  their  criticism 
which  shaped  the  art  of  the  vase-painters,  the  architects, 
the   sculptors,  the    bronze-makers,   and   the    countless 
other  artistic  tradesmen,  the  style  of  the  orators,  the 
literature  of  dramatists  and  dithyrambists,   the  music 
of  the  choric  composers.     When   governors  and  ad- 
ministrators were  needed  for  the  outlying  districts  of 
the  Athenian  or  Spartan  Empires,  or  if  officers  were 


CHAP.  XI  CONCLUDING  ESSAY  291 

required  to  lead  local  levies  to  battle,  any  citizen,  rich 
or  poor,  might  be  sent.  The  citizens,  too,  formed  the 
core  of  the  fleets  and  armies  in  the  best  days  of  Hellas. 
The  object  of  Hellenic  education  was  to  produce  this 
type  of  citizen — a  man  capable  of  governing,  of  fighting, 
and  of  setting  the  taste  and  standards  of  his  country. 

Thus  the  schools  of  Hellas  correspond  in  England 
not  to  the  national  schools,  but  to  the  "  public  schools." 
I  do  not  mean  to  assert  that  the  English  public-school 
boy  stands,  in  after  life,  in  the  position  of  the  Hellenic 
citizen  to  the  bulk  of  the  population.  English  de- 
mocracy rests  on  a  wider  basis  than  Athenian  or 
Florentine,  and,  in  theory  at  any  rate,  the  exclusive 
power  of  the  "  upper  classes  "  is  at  an  end.  None  the 
less  it  is  true  that  from  among  the  boys  educated  at 
the  public  schools  comes  a  very  considerable  part  of 
the  generals  and  military  officers,  of  the  clergy,  of  the 
squires,  of  the  Justices  of  the  Peace  and  other  ad- 
ministrators of  the  law,  of  the  governors  and  officials 
required  by  the  Indian  Empire  and  the  various 
dependencies  and  Crown  Colonies,  of  the  members  of 
Parliament  and  statesmen  at  home.  If  the  influence  of 
the  public  schools  of  England  upon  the  governing  and 
fighting  of  the  nation  is  less  than  that  which  the  schools 
of  Hellas  were  able  to  exercise,  their  influence  upon 
national  taste  and  standards  in  art  and  culture  and 
literature  is  probably  in  no  way  inferior.  It  is  therefore 
their  duty  to  train  their  pupils'  characters,  that  they 
may  be  fit  and  able  administrators,  governors,  and 
justices  ;  and  their  tastes,  that  their  criticism  and  de- 
mands may  rightly  direct  the  culture  of  the  nation. 
In  striving  after  these  ends,  the  public  schools  of 
England  may,  I  think,  take  not  a  few  hints  from  the 
like-motived  schools  of  Hellas. 


INDEX 


Abacus,  illustrated,  104 
Aegina  pediment,  5 
Aeolian  harmony,  240,  241 
Aeschylus,  245 
Aesop,  49,  96 
Agesilaos,  13,  138,  236 
Aglauros,  temple  of,  210 
Aineias  Tacticus,  208 
Aischines,  father  of,  an  usher,  83 
Alcademeia,  125 

description  of  scene  in,  134-142 

Plato's  teaching  in  the,  196-207 

Plato's   lectures   in  the,  described  by 
Epikrates,  199 

Plato's  lectures,  reference  by  Ephippos 
and  Antiphanes,  200 

Plato's  lectures   in   the,  reference  by 
Amphis,  201 

Plato's  lectures  in  the,  references  in 
Comedy,  201 

Plato's  lectures  in  the,  reference  by 
Alexis,  200-201 

Plato's  pupils  described  by  Ephippos, 
200 
Alexander,  2,  203 
Alexis,  207 

his  catalogue  of  a  school  library,  95 

on  the  Alcademeia,  200-201 
Alkibiades,  207,  277 

plays  the  flute,  1 1 1 

in  the  pankration,  133 
Alphabet,  metrical,  88 
Amphis,  on  the  Akademeia,  201 
Anaxagoras,  81,  158,  209,  230 
Angclo,  Michel,  5 
Anthology,  on  wrestling,  132 
Antidosis  of  Isokrates,  190 
Antigenes,  palaistra  of,  60 
Antipater,  192 

Antiphanes,  on  the  Akademeia,  200 
Antiphon  the  Sophist,  172-173 
Apelles,  115 
ApoUodoros,  208 
Apprenticeship,  44-45 
Arcadia,  243 


Archephebos,  220 
Archon  Eponumos,  71  «. 
Areiopagitikos  of  Isokrates,  1 90 
Areiopagos,  supervision  of  the  young,  70 

and  the  epheboi,  213 
Ares,  211 
Argos,  12  «. 

foot-races  for  girls  at,  142 
Aristophanes,  supports  athleticism,  123 

criticism   of   Sophists    in   the   Clouds, 
166-167 

attacks  new  artistic  standards,  251 
Aristotle,  202 

condemns  professional  athletes,  123 

at   Plato's   lecture   on  "The  Good," 

his  school  in  the  Lukeion,  203 

views  on  art  in  education,  117,  258 
Aristoxenos,  171 
Arithmetic,  teaching  of,  100-107 
Arkadia,  schools  in,  jj^  243 
Art,  characteristics  of  Greek,  237-239 

teaching  of,  in  primary  schools,  114- 
117 
Artemis  Koruthalia,  40 
Artemis  Orthia,  29,  285 
Artistic  education,  237-258 

Aristotle  on,  117 
Art -schools,  date  of  the  rise  of,  115 
Aster,  Plato's  pupil,  201-202 
Astupalaia,  school  in,  77 
Athleticism  at  Sparta,  11-34 

in  Crete,  36-38 

at  Athens  and  the  rest  of  Greece,  1 18- 

revolt  against  excessive,  75 
excessive  addiction  to,  1 19-123 

Autokrator,  192 

Autolukos,  75-76 

Auxo,  211 

Axiothea,  197 

Barbitos,  108 

Bathing-room  in  the  gymnasium,  137 

Boiotia,  schools  in,  76 


393 


294 


SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS 


Books,  use  of,  in  education,  204-209 

Isokrates'  opinion  of,  204 

Plato's  opinion  of,  205 

rare  before  the  Periclean  age,  207 

trade  in,  207 

prices  of,  208-209 

variety  of,  208 
5w«m  of  Isokrates,  185,  187,  195 
Boxing  in  the  palaistra,  132-133 
Bribery,  among  professional  athletes,  121 

Cavalry,  training  for,  143,  149-152 

Chabrias,  202 

Chancellor  (Kosmetes)  of  the  epheboi, 

212-213 
Chares,  208 
Charondas,  62 
Ckeirortj  Precepts  of,  96 
Chess  {weaffoi),  105 
Children,  exposure  of  Spartan,  1 3 
Chios,  Isokrates  in,  181 

collapse  of  a  school  of  letters  in,  76 

girls  wrestling  in,  142 
Choirilos,  95,  207 
Choregia,  description  of,  148-149 
Choregos,  60,  148 
Competitions,  local,  62-65 
Conscription,  283 

at  Athens,  55-56 
Cookery-book,  207 

by  Simos,  96 

by  Mithaikos,  208 
Cookery-schools,  45 
Corporal  punishment,  18,  29,  66,  68,  98- 

100,  262  and  n.,  285 
Crete,  education  at,  34-38 

Damon,  a  music-teacher,  113,  249 

Dancing  at  Sparta,  22,  30-32 
dithuramboi,  144-145 
religious  aspect  of,  143-144,  248 
dramatic  aspects  of,  144-145 
systems  of,  145 
the  War-dance,  146-147 
the  Naked-dance,  31,  147 
universal  throughout  Hellas,  143 
educational  importance  of,  143 

Delphoi,  educational  endowments  at,  62 

Demosthenes,  195,  202 

Derkulos,  71 

Diaulos,  133 

Dictation,  87 

Diodotos,  192 

Dion,  202 

Dionusia,  epheboi  at,  214 

Dionusios,  Plato's  master,  158,  160 
Plato's  pupil,  202,  203 

Dionusodoros  the  Sophist,  173 

Dionusos,  144,  283 


Diskos  in  the  palaistra,  134 

Dorian  harmony,  240-241 

Douris,  Vase  of,  52,  86,  92 

Drama,  influence  of,  in  education,  248- 

249 
Drawing,  teaching  of,  in  primary  schools, 

114 
Dresden  Gallery,  5 
Dusting-room  in  the  gymnasium,  137 

Edgeworth,  Maria,  74,  260 

Egypt,  in  Plato's  Laivs,  102-103 

Eleusis,  education  at,  71 

Elgin  marbles,  3,  5 

Elpias,  school  of,  83 

Empedokles,  230 

Enualios,  211 

Epaminondas,  245 

Ephebarchos,  220 

Ephebic  inscriptions,  221-223 

Epheboi,  37,  263 

examination  and  oath,  210-21 1 

decline  in  number,  219-220 
Ephippos,  on  the  Akademeia,  200 
Epicharmos,  95,  207 
Epikrates,  on  Plato's  lectures,  199 
Eponumos,  Archon,  71  «. 
Eretria,  school  in,  y; 
Eros,  135 

Eruthrai,  school  in,  yy 
Euagoras,  191 

Eudikos,  son  of  Apemantos,  98 
Euenos  of  Paros,  i68,  176 
Euhemeros,  229  «. 
Euripides,  his  alphabetical  puzzle,  90 

denunciation  of  athleticism,  122 

his  rationalism,  230 
Euthudemos  the  Sophist,  173 
Euthudemos,  companion  of  Sokrates,  207 
Eutuchides,  155 

Exposure  of  Spartan  children  on  Tati- 
getos,  13 

Fees,  62,  278,  281 

paid  to  schoolmasters,  81 

of  the  paidotribes,  134 

paid  to  Sophists,  168-169 

of    permanent     secondary     teachers, 
182 

in  the  Akademeia,  202-203 

to  the  Sophronistai,  213 
Festivals,  school,  80-81 
Flute,  teaching  of,  no 

condemned  by  Pratinas,  1 10 

condemned  by  Plato,  242 

particulars  of,  112 
Flute-girls,  professional,  in 
"Foreign  Legion,"  216,  218 


INDEX 


295 


Gelon  of  Syracuse,  228 
Gesticulation,  129-130 
Girls  at  Sparta,  29-30 

wrestle  at  Chios,  142 

foot-races  for,  at  Argos,  142 
Gorgias  the  Sophist,  168,  169,  174-176, 
208 

his  euphuistic  style,  176 

his  influence  on  later  writers,  176 
Grammatistes,  50 
Gumnasiarchos,  213-214,  220 

excursus  on,  154-156 
Gumnastes,   distinct    from    paidotribes, 

126  n. 
Gumnopaidia,  31,  146-147 
Gymnasium,  description  of,  124 

cost,  124 

description  of  scene  in,  134-142 

dirodvT-qpiov,  135 

patron  deities,  135 

the  oil-room,  136 

the  dusting-room,  137 

the  bathing-room,  137 

the  punch-ball  room,  137 

Sophists'  lectures,  138 

central  courtyard,  138-139 

the  xustos,  141 
Gymnastics,  excessive  addiction  to,  119- 

professional,  disadvantages  of,  120 

Halt^res,  128 

Hegemone,  211 

Helen  of  Isokrates,  185,  195 

Hellas,  educator  of  the  world,  2-3 

Hellenism,  two  currents  of,  6 

spread  by  Alexander,  Rome,  and  the 
Renaissance,  2-3 

spirit  of,  3 

methods  of  teaching,  4,  275-291 
Henty,  G.  A.,  260 
Hephaisteia,  155 
Heralcleides  of  Pontos,  36  «.,  198,  202, 

241 
Herakleitos,  229 
Hermann,    K.   F.,   an    emendation   of, 

125 
"Hermes"  of  Praxiteles,  5,  250 
Herondas,  third  Mime  of,  98-100 
Hesiod,  207 

authority  of,  228 

teaching  of,  in  primary  schools,  95 
Hestiaios,  198 

Hippias  of  Elis,  97,  168,  169,  172 
Hippokleides,  129 
Hippokrates,  208,  215 
Hippothontid  tribe,  215 
Holidays,  on  festivals,  80-81 
Homer,  207 


Homer,  teaching  of,  in  primary  schools, 

93-95 
authority  of,  228 
Horace,  2 

Hunting,  142-143,  259 
Hupereides,  202 
Hypo-Dorian  harmony,  241 

Iliaca,  Tabula,  84 

Ink,  85,  87 

Inscriptions,  ephebic,  221-223 

Inukos,  168 

Ion,  the  rhapsode,  97 

Ionian  harmony,  240-241 

Iphikrates,  202 

Isaios,  195 

Isokrates,  161 

pupil  of  Gorgias,  169 

his  school  near  the  Lukeion,  180 

teaching  in  Chios,  181 

on  the  theory  of  education,  182 

on  the  nature  of  philosophy,  184 

his  school  described,  185-195 

his  methods,  186-190 

his  pupils,  191,  192 

on  theory  of  education,  192 

definition  of  the  educated  man,  192- 

193.  . 
on  religious  myths,  230-231 

Javelin    and    spear    throwing    in    the 

palaistra,  134 
Jiu-jitsu,  131 
Jump,  long,  in  the  palaistra,  133 

Kallias,  his  metrical  alphabet,  88 

his  spelling  drama,  88-90 
Kameiros,  in  Rhodes,  53 
Karia,  241  n. 
Karneia,  40 

Kekropid  tribe,  215,  219 
Kikunna,  166 
Kitharistes,  50 
Klazomenai,  8i 
Kleinias,  243 
Kleon,  113 

Knucklebones,  65,  99,  105 
Kolonos,  196 
Konnaros,  65 

Konnos,  his  music-school,  113 
Korax,  208 

Korubantic  dances,  242  «. 
K6rukoi,  128,  137 
Kos,  215 

Kosmetes  of  the  epheboi,  212-213 
Kottalos,  in  Herondas,  99-100 
Kritias,  63,  277 

plays  the  flute,  iii 
Kunaitha,  243 


296 


SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS 


Kuretic  dance  in  Crete,  36,  146 
ATaroj,  The  Education  of,  259-272 

Lampriskoe,  in  Herondas,  99-100 
Lampros,  a  music-teacher,  113,  164 
Lastheneia,  197 

Laughter,  statue  of,  in  Sparta,  12 
Leap-frog  in  the  palaistra,  130 
Lectures  in  primary  schools,  97 
Leitourgiai,  60-61,  148 

excursus  on  gumnasiarchoi,  154-156 
Leolcrates,  219 
Lesbos,  schools  in,  jj 
Leschai  at  Sparta,  1 1 
Libanius,  178 
Libraries  of  Euthudemos,  207 

of  Peisistratos  at  Athens,  207 

of  Polukrates  at  Samos,  207 
Library,  a  school,  95 
Likumnios  the  Sophist,  176 
Linos,  207 

Literature,    teaching     of,    in     primary 
schools,  93-97 

in  secondary  schools,  161- 162 
Logographoi,  180-181,  193 
Long  jump  in  the  palaistra,  133 
Lukeion,  125 

description  of  scene  in,  134-142 
Lukourgos  the  orator,  202,  2 1 1 
Lusandros,  16 

Lusias,  the  logographos,  193 
Lusis,  54 

Lydian  harmony,  240-242 
Lyre,  and  lyric-schools,  107-114 

Mantitheos,  60 
Marathon,  3 
Marriage  customs,  48 
Mathematics,  teaching  of,  100-107 

in  secondary  schools,  159 
Meals,  hours  of,  80 
Medical  beliefs,  243 
Menander,  250 
Menedemos,  196 
Metrodoros,  230 
Metrotim6,  in  Herondas,  98-100 
Michel  Angelo,  5 
Mikkos,  138  «. 
Mithaikos,  208 
Mixed-Lydian  harmony,  241 
Moderators  (Sophronistai),  70,  212-213, 

220 
Mounuchia,  213 
Mousaios,  164 
Mukalessos,  schools  at,  76 
Muronides,  218 
Music,  240-244 

in  Crete,  36-37 

in  primary  schools,  107-114 


Music,  Plato  on  the  value  of,  113 
Aristotle  on  the  value  of,  114 
characteristics  of  Greek,  240-244 
Greek  views  of  the  properties  of,  243 
in  Arkadia,  243 

Music-schools,  experiments  in,  1 10 

"  Nature-study,"  262 

Nikeratos,  94 

Nikostratos,  archonship  of,  212 

Oberammergau,  249 
Oil-room  in  the  gymnasium,  136 
Oinopides,  158 
Orpheus,  95,  164,  207 
Oxurhunchos,    fragment    on    wrestling 
unearthed  at,  131 

Paidagogos,  266,  278-279 

duties  of,  66-69 
Paidonomos,  277 
Paidotribes,  50,  278 

duties  of,  126 

his  symbol  of  office,  128 

his  fee,  134 
Painting,  teaching  of,  in  primary  schools, 

."4 

Palaistra,  distinct  from  gymnasium,  124 

life  in  the,  124-134 

teaching        of       gesticulation        (t6 
Xcipovofie'iv),  129 

wrestling  (TrdXiy),  130-132 

leap-frog,  130 

rope-climbing,  130 

boxing,  132 

pankration,  132-133 

long  jump,  133 

running,  133 

javelin  and  spear,  134 

diskos,  134 

fees  of  the  paidotribes,  134 
Pamphilos  the  Macedonian,  115 
Panathenaic  festival,  148,  152,  155 
PanatAenaikos  of  Isokr&tes,  187,  189 
Pankration  in  the  palaistra,  132-133 
Parthenon,  244,  245 

the  *'  Theseus  "  of  the,  5 
Peiraieus,  213 
Peisistratos,  247 

popularisation  of  Homer  by,  52 
Pencils,  84 
Perikles,  3,  246,  276 
Peripoloi,  214  and  n.,  215 
Permanent  secondary  schools,  179-209 

their  natural  growth  at  Athens,  179 

fees,  182 

of  Isokrates,  185-195 
PhaUUos,  139 
Pheidias,  245,  250 


INDEX 


297 


Pheiditia  at  Sparta,  13-15 
Pheidostratos,  schoolroom  of,  98 
Pherekrates,  The  Sla-ve-Teacher,  45 
Philosophy,  schools  of,  195-207 

their  feuds,  203-204 
Philoxenos,  242 
Phokion,  202 
Phrunichos,  215 
Phrunis,  12 

Phrygian  harmony,  240 
Physical  education,  279 

in  Athens  and  the  rest  of  Hellas,  118- 

156 
contemporary  criticism  of  excess,  119- 

123 
dancing,  143-149 
Pindar,  eulogy  of  athleticism,  121-122 
Pittalos,  45 

Plataea,  oath  of  the  army  at,  211 
Plato,  denounces   excessive   athleticism, 
123 
criticism  of  Sophists,  174 
his  teaching  in  the  Akademeia,  1 96-207 
his   teaching   in   the  Akademeia    de- 
scribed by  Epikrates,  199 
teaching  in  the  Akademeia  :  his  affec- 
tion for  his  pupils,  201-202 
teaching  in  the  Akademeia  :  names  of 

his  pupils,  202 
teaching  in  the  Akademeia,  gratuitous, 

203 
on  the  theory  of  education,  205-206 
criticism  of  religious  myths,  231-233 
on  the  value  of  myths,  235 
on  the  educative  value  of  artistic  en- 
vironment, 246 
his  excessive  imagination,  247 
on  the  Athenian  drama,  253 
criticism  of  art,  255-258 
on  Xenophon's  Kuros,  272 
Playgrounds,  83 
Plecktron,  107 

Poetry,  place  of,  in  education,  247-249 
Polemon,  201 

Polos  the  Sophist,  i68,  176,  208 
Polugnotos,  115 

Polybios,  on  Arcadian  music,  243 
Pratinas,  on  the  flute,  no 
Praxiteles,  the  "  Hermes  "  of,  5,  250 
Prizes,  65 
Prodikos  the  Sophist,  168,  171-172 

Choice  of  Herakles,  96,  98,  171-172 
Propulaia,  245 

Protagoras  the  Sophist,  167-168, 170,230 
Proverbs,  Greek,  45,  57  «.,  no,  in,  152 
Public   schools,  English,  compared,  23, 

212  «.,  265 
Punch-ball,  137 
Pyrrhic  dance,  36 


Raphael,  5 

Rationalism,  spread  of,  229-230 
Reading,  teaching  of,  87-92 
Religious  education,  228-236 

Plato's  revision,  231-233 
Rhetoric  in  secondary  schools,  i6o-l6i 

weaknesses  of  Greek,  174-175 
Riding,  143,  149-152 
Rope-climbing  in  the  palaistra,  130 
Rowing,  143,  153-154 
Running,  long-distance,  133 

in  the  palaistra,  133 

Salmudessos,  207 

Schoolmaster,  status  of,  81 

Secondary  education,  157-209 

secondary  classes  in  primary  schools, 

157-158 
Sophists,  157-178 
permanent  schools,  179-209 
variety  of  subjects,  159 
rhetoric,  160- 161 
literary  subjects,  161 
the  education  voluntary,  163 

Semele,  145,  256 

Shakespeare,  249 

Shelley,  translation  of  epigram,  202 

Siburtios,  palaistra  of,  60 

Sicily,    education    in    Chalcidian    cities 
of,  62 

Sikinnos,  67 

Simon,  208 

Simos,  his  cookery-book,  96 

Sistine  Chapel,  5 

Skias,  council-chamber  at  Sparta,  12 

Skillous,  259 

Slave  Teacher^  Thcy  of  Pherekrates,  45 

Sokrates,  167,  230,  270,  277 

Solon,  57,  247 

enactment  on  handicraft,  45 
regulations  about  paidagogoi,  67 
enactments  to  safeguard  morality,  68- 

archaic  phrases  in  his  laws,  95 

on  courtiers,  104 

metrical  version  of  Athenian  laws,  109 

?  on  gumnasiarchai,  155 
Sophists,  157-178,  286 

and  mathematics,  102 

subjects  taught,  165 

criticism  of  Aristophanes,  166 

criticism  of  Plato,  174 

scale  of  fees,  169 

secret  of  their  power,  170 

their  undemocratic  influence,  177 

their  rationalism,  177 

criticised  by  Isokrates,  182 
Sophokles,  3 
Sophronistai,  70,  212-213,  220 


298 


SCHOOLS  OF  HELLAS 


Sparta,  education  at,  11-34 

character  of  people,  1 1 

importance  of  education  at,  12 

details  of  Pheiditia,  13-15 

the  State  a  military  machine,  iz 

conservatism  of,  12 

strictness  of  discipline,  13 

Spartan  nurses,  1 3 

system  of  State  schools,  14 

Syssitia,  39-40 

ideals  in  education,  275 

educational  methods,  285 
Spelling,  teaching  of,  88-90 
Spelling-book,  terra-cotta  fragment   of, 

89  ff. 
Speusippos,  202 
Stadion,  133 
Stcsimbrotos,  230 
Swimming,  143,  152-153 
Syntono-Lydian  harmony,  242 
Syssitia  at  Sparta,  39-40,  267 

at  Crete,  40-41 

Tabula  Iliaca,  84 

Taiigetos,  exposure  of  Spartan  children 

on,  13 
Taureas,  palaistra  of,  60 
Technical  instruction,  44-46 

of  the  logographoi,  180-18 1 
Teles,  115,  160 
Tennyson,  quoted,  235 
Teos,  220 

educational  endowments  in,  62 

prizemen  in  competitions,  63 

recitations  of  boys  at,  96 
Tertiary  education,  210-223 
Thales  (Cretan  poet),  243 
Thallo,  211 
Thargelia,  148,  155 
Theodoros,  160,  176 
Theognis,  96 
Theophanes,  212 
Theophrastos,  243 

Theory   of   education,    227-272,    275- 
291 


Theory  of  education,  Plato's  views  on, 
205-206 
Xenophon's  views  on,  259-272 
Thermopylae,  3 

"  Theseus,"  of  the  Parthenon,  5,  245 
Thespis,  247 

Thrasuboulos  of  Kaludon,  215 
Thrasumachos,  177,  208 
Timeas,  palaistra  of,  60 
Timotheos,  12,  145 
Timotheos  the  general,  196 
Timotheos  of  Herakleia,  192 
Tisias,  208 
Tithenidia,  40 
Torch-race,  155 
Trade,  Greek  views  on,  43 
Troizen,  schools  in,  •j'j^  220 

Undressing-room  in  the  gymnasium,  135 

Virgil,  2 

Wax,  tablets  of,  84 

Women,  gymnastics  for,  at  Sparta,  30 

seclusion  of,  46 

duties  of,  47 

excluded  from  athletics  in  Athens,  142 

admitted  to  the  Akademeia,  197 

position  of,  282 
Wrestling    in    the    palaistra    described, 

130-132 
Writing,  teaching  of,  85-87 

Xenokrates,  196,  2oi,  202,  203 

Xenophanes,  229 

Xenophanes     of     Kolophon,     criticises 
athleticism,  121 

Xenophon,  treatise  on  The  Horse^  208 
handbooks  on  educational  subjects,  208 
The  Education  of  Kuros,  259-272 
character  of,  259-260 

Xerxes,  61,  239 

Xustos,  in  the  gymnasium,  141 

Zeuxippos  of  Heraklea,  1 14 


APaKos,  104 
&y4\ai,  37 
dXctTPTiJs,  126  «. 
&v8p€ia,  35 
diref)yd^€<rdai,  116 
dirddpofioi.,  38 
dirodvT'^ptov,  135 

ypa/xfial,  86 
ypafifiartaTi^if  165 


yvfwafftapxeiVj  155 
yv/xvowaidLa,  146 

iXatod^fftov,  136  «. 
i^aXelipeiv^  116 
^iraiKkov,  39 
iirLKpoTOSj  151 

^jdos,  244 


INDEX 


299 


KddapaiSf  242 
Kardareyos  8p6fws,  136 
Kidapia-TT^s,  165 
Koirides,  40 
Kpvrrrol,  215,  220 

^rj^Lapxf-Khv  ypafifiaretov^  210 

fi€ya.\b\pvxoi,  236 
fieipdKiov,  53,  191 
/j^ToiKoi  laoreXeis,  216 

^T)pa\oi,<l>eTpj  136  «. 

6/i6voia,  172 
3p/Aos,  30  «. 

xai5a7W7etoj',  84 
nraibovbixoi^  36 
7rdX77,  130-132 


Trc/iTrdfeiJ',  104 
'jr€piypa<fy/l,  ii6 
irepiwdXia,  215 
ireffffolf  105 
irKi^oVy  131 

(TKiaypatpioy  116 
ao<f)L(rT-qs,  164,  165 
(rrXe77fs,  142 

{/Taidpioi,  215 
v-JToypafifiSsy  85 
v7roypd(f>€iv,  116 
vTroypa<pifiy  86 

^oppiia,  112,  128 

Xeipovofieiv,  129 
XiTXcuiT^ai,  136  «. 


THE    END 


Printed  ^  R.  &  R.  Clark,  Limited,  Edinburgh. 


PRESS  OPINIONS   ON   FIRST   EDITION   OF 
SCHOOLS   OF   HELLAS 


TIMES. — "  We  have  nothing  but  praise  for  the  thoroughness  with  which  Mr. 
Freeman  collected  the  facts,  and  the  lucidity  and  point  with  which  he  has  stated 
them.  Those  to  whom  the  works  of  MM.  Girard  and  Grasberger  are  inaccessible 
will  find  all  they  want  in  Mr.  Freeman's  book;  and  not  the  dry  facts  only,  but 
much  discriminating  comment,  and  comparison  of  modern  educational  methods  and 
institutions  on  which  the  author  speaks  at  first  hand.  Mr.  Freeman  has  also  set 
his  facts  in  excellent  perspective.  .  .  .  The  main  point  on  which  we  have  some- 
thing to  learn  from  Hellas  is  Jts  care  of  the  young  body,  and  its  successful  effort 
to  make  intellectual  training  not  irksome  but  delightful,  by  leavening  book-wori;. 
largely  not  only  with  physical  exercises,  but  with  the  practice  of  the  arts.  More 
attention  to  Hellenic  method  in  this  respect  is  the  message  which  Mr.  Freeman 
left  to  Winchester  and  our  other  public  schools,  and  it  is  a  message  worthy  of  all 
attention." 

ATHENJEUM. — "It  is  not  merely  a  contribution  to  the  history  of  Greek 
education,  but  also  a  highly  interesting  and  suggestive  product  of  the  existing  system 
of  education  in  England.  .  .  .  Supplies,  and  supplies  well,  a  real  lacuna  in  English 
educational  literature.  In  the  main  it  is  a  sound  and  thorough  treatment  of  the 
subject,  and  may  confidently  be  recommended  to  all  students  of  it.  .  .  .  Mr.  M.  J. 
Rendall  has  edited  it,  evidently  with  great  care,  and  has  prefixed  a  short  memoir 
of  the  author.  .  .  .  The  illustrations  (from  Greek  vases,  representing  scenes  in  the 
palaestra  or  schools)  are  well  chosen,  and  effectively  reproduced  on  terra-cotta  paper. 
.  .  .  Finally,  the  type  and  paper  are  good,  and  the  price  extremely  moderate. 
Altogether,  it  is  a  book  creditable  to  English  education,  and  the  friends  of  the 
author  may  be  proud  of  it." 

SATURDAT  RE  FIE  fT.—'' This  is  the  best  account  of  the  Greek  schools  that 
has  hitherto  been  issued  in  the  English  language.  These  vivid  and  interesting 
chapters  enable  the  reader  to  get  a  firm  grasp  of  the  methods  and  aims  of  Hellenic 
education,  and  the  brief  but  telling  criticisms  by  one  who  had  but  recently  com- 
pleted his  own  course  of  training  are  eminently  suggestive  of  practical  applications." 

GUARDIAN.— ''The  book  is  full  of  freshness  and  the  joy  of  life.  .  .  .  The 
author  has  left  us  a  work  of  value  which  may  be  recommended  to  those  who  are 
interested  in  antiquity." 

SPECTATOR.—''  This  is  a  work  of  considerable  interest,  for  it  is  well  written 
and  based  on  original  study.  .  .  .  Endowed  with  high  talents,  and  deeply  interested 
in  education,  the  author  was  exactly  the  type  of  master  whom  our  great  schools,  if 
they  are  still  to  deserve  the  name,  can  least  easily  spare." 

PALL  MALL  GAZETTE.— "The  book  fills  a  very  serious  gap  in  English 
literature  on  Greek  life.  Mr.  Freeman  gives  a  singularly  vivid  and  full  picture  of 
the  school  life  of  Hellas,  particularly  in  Athens.  The  volume  is  illustrated  by 
excellent  reproductions  from  Greek  vases,  and  we  must  say  a  word  of  praise  for  the 
extraordinary  cheapness  of  the  price.  ...  In  size,  appearance,  and  beauty  this 
handsome  octavo  of  300  pages  looks  like  a  half-guinea  book." 


PRESS  OPINIONS  ON  FIRST  EDITION --<ontmued 

MORNING  POST. — "The  book  is  a  masterpiece.  Anybody  who  cares  for 
learning  and  teaching  will  read  it  with  delight  j  all  those  who  talk  about  education 
ought  to  be  compelled  to  read  it.  .  .  .  Such  a  volume  might  clear  away  volumes  of 
cant  and  shoddy.  .  .  .  The  parallel  between  Dorian  and  English  boarding-schools  is 
drawn  with  the  discerning  enthusiasm  of  a  Wykehamist  and  a  scholar.  .  .  .  The 
wonderfully  sharp  and  agreeable  draughtsmanship,  the  wit,  the  humour,  the  apt 
modern  instances,  the  insight  for  analogy  or  identity  under  changed  conditions.  .  .  . 
A  good  index  puts  the  reader  on  the  track  of  many  fascinating  problems.  .  .  .  The 
book  deserves  to  see  many  editions." 

DAILT  TELEGRAPH.— ''This  fine,  discriminating  essay.  .  .  .  The  mono- 
graph is  practically  complete,  being  full  of  information,  well  collected  and  arranged, 
and  of  original  criticism  of  an  uncommonly  acute  and  painstaking  kind.  .  .  . 
Collects  together  between  covers  more  information  upon  its  subject  than  is  to  be 
found  in  any  single  volume  in  the  English  language,  and  reflects  the  highest  credit 
upon  the  hard  work  and  good  taste  which  inspired  it.  .  .  .  No  one  who  reads  Mr. 
Freeman's  picturesque  and  often  glowing  pages  can  fail  to  be  prompted  to  certain 
rather  suggestive  comparisons  between  the  ancient  and  modern  systems  of  education, 
and  the  divergent  ideals  which  they  seem  to  set  before  themselves.  We  heartily 
welcome  the  publication  of  this  well-written  and  well-argued  essay  in  criticism.  It 
should  be  extremely  useful  to  all  students  in  the  final  classical  schools,  not  only  at 
Cambridge,  but  also  at  the  sister  University." 

MANCHESTER  GUARDIAN.—''  Combines  in  a  singular  degree  freshness  of 
interest  with  fulness  of  first-hand  knowledge.  .  .  .  There  is  zest  in  it, — a  con- 
fidence of  touch,  and  a  note  of  quiet  certainty  of  description.  .  .  .  Greek  life  and 
Greek  education  were  real  things  to  the  author,  he  writes  about  them  as  a  man 
writes  about  things  he  sees  "  (M.  E.  Sadler). 

CONTEMPORART  REVIEW.—''  We  cannot  emulate  the  genius  nor  recreate 
the  circumstances  that  produced  Athenian  culture,  but  we  ought  at  least  to  be  able 
to  avoid  its  errors,  and  if  Mr.  Freeman's  work  can  do  this  it  will  have  rendered  as 
important  a  service  to  education  as  it  should  undoubtedly  do  to  scholarship." 

CHURCH  SlUARTERLT  REVIEW.—" It  is  not  easy  to  put  the  book  down  j 
one  would  like  to  have  more  of  it.  The  writer  masses  his  facts  together  rapidly 
and  clearly.  ...  He  shows  his  mastery  of  his  subject  by  the  ability  with  which 
he  discusses  various  subjects.  .  .  .  The  book  contains  some  acute  obiter  dicta.'''' 

JOURNAL  OF  HELLENIC  STUDIES.—"  It  is  impossible  here  to  dwell  on 
the  countless  points  of  practical  interest  raised  by  this  book,  which  should  be  read 
and  pondered  by  all  educationalists  and  schoolmasters.  ...  It  forms  a  valuable  and 
suggestive  introduction  to  an  attractive  subject  which  is  for  the  first  time  presented 
to  English  readers  under  an  attractive  form." 

JOURNAL  OF  EDUCATION.—"  Let  us  end,  as  we  began,  with  a  hearty 
acknowledgment  of  the  merits  of  this  essay.  The  spirit  of  Greece  is  still  alive, 
and  it  still  breeds  '  honourable  hearts  and  vigorous  minds '  like  Kenneth  Freeman." 

JOURNAL  DES  piBATS.—"Le  volume  justifie  les  regrets  laisses  par  son 
jeune  auteur  k  ceux  qui  avaient  pu  le  juger.  Les  hommes  competents  en  louent  la 
science  et  la  solidite,  et  il  est  ecrit  avec  une  fraicheur,  une  vivacite,  qui  en  rendent 
la  lecture  d^licieuse  pour  un  simple  curieux  de  mon  esp^ce  "  (Arvfede  Barine). 

LITERARISCHE  RUNDSCHAU.— "  Dtr  Gegenstand  seines  Buches  ersten 
Bliite  ist  anziehend  und  lehrreich,  die  Behandlung  des  Themas  geschickt  und  trotz 
cxacten  Quellenstudiums  nicht  von  aufdringlicher  Gelehrsamkeit,  der  Stil  klar  und 
wohlgebildet.  Kritische  ErOrterungen  sind  von  der  Darstellung  ausgesch lessen  j  die 
altere  Literatur  wird  nur  gelegentlich  gestreift." 


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